Author:
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: September 30, 2002
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/archive_full_story.php?content_id=10356
The letters and phone calls simply
haven't stopped pouring in since September 25, when the National Security
Guards won the battle of wits and bullets at the Swaminarayan temple at
Akshardham. Those who sent in their appreciation of the NSG's work in Gujarat
include Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L.K.
Advani, leader of the opposition Sonia Gandhi and Governor of Manipur Ved
Marwah, who himself headed the force between 1988 and 1990. But Operation
Vajra Shakti, as it was codenamed, also saw its first casualty ever since
the force was set up in 1985-that of Subedar Suresh Chand Yadav. It's a
''matter of luck'', the NSG's Director General, Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary,
told Bhavna Vij, given the fact that they were up against a do-and-die
suicide squad. Incidentally, Mooshahary, a 1967 batch Kerala cadre IPS
officer, is the first from the Bodo community in Manipur to make it to
this post.
Q.: Could Operation Vajra Shakti
at the Swaminarayan temple have been carried out without any casualties?
A.: Life and death are a matter
of luck. There were commandoes who survived after bullets grazed past their
lips, their faces and fingers. Even Subedar Suresh Chand Yadav (the lone
NSG casualty) would have survived had the bullet hit a little lower. He
was wearing a bullet proof jacket.
Q.: Could the terrorists have been
apprehended alive?
A.: This was a suicide squad. The
terrorists had not undertaken the operation to live. The longer they had
lived, the higher would have been the loss of innocent lives. We have given
the impression of being a soft state. Not any more. The nation wants action,
the nation wants to see terrorists dead. That is why we have so much support
from the entire country.
Q.: Are you facing a shortage of
manpower and effective weapon systems?
A.: We have no shortage of manpower.
It is just that we are not finding the right kind of men in the right numbers.
There is a very high rate of wastage in the selection process. The men
have to be top class, both mentally and physically. There is no room for
second best in NSG.
Q.: What about upgraded weapons?
A.: Oh yes! Some of our weapons
like the Glock pistol and MP-5 submachine guns have become old. We have
been scouting the international market for newer versions. We're also looking
for better and lighter bullet proof jackets and vests and improved communication
equipment.
There is no shortage of funds. The
government has provided all the money we require, but the procedure is
often lengthy, especially when imports are involved. We have an elaborate
five-year-modernisation programme.
Q.: Is VVIP security a problem?
Does it involve too many commandoes?
A.: VVIP security is no problem.
It is a part of our mandate and charter of duties. There is a separate
group for anti-terrorist and anti-hijacking operations and an entirely
separate group specially trained for VVIP security. It is not a burden
for the force. It is a task we are trained for.
Q.: What are the major operations
the NSG has been involved in?
A.: It was baptism by fire when,
soon after its composition in 1985, the force participated in Operation
Black Thunder in Punjab in 1986 and then in 1988, and its role was commended.
In recent times, we participated in ending a mosque siege in Anantnag in
south Kashmir where four terrorists were holed up inside a mosque. All
of them were killed without suffering a single casualty.
And at present, there's a 80-strong
team led by a Colonel waiting to neutralise Veerappan as soon as he is
spotted.
Q.: Is the NSG, then, hunting for
Veerappan?
A.: No, it's not our job to hunt
for Veerappan. We are not a combing force. We are a quick reaction attack
force. Once he is hunted we will form the assault force or quick reaction
team which will move in and neutralise him as soon as it sees him.
