NIA summons Punjab SP to Delhi, lie test likely

Sleuths probing all angles, possible lapses, drug cartel links; ‘insider role’ not ruled out

The “insider role” in the cross-border terror conspiracy leading up to the Pathankot airbase attack is not being ruled out yet, with the National Investigation Agency’s probe directed at ascertaining any lapses that may have led to the attack, besides the role of “local help” in aiding the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists who crossed over from Pakistan to carry out the audacious seige at the IAF base.

The NIA has also summoned Punjab SP Salwinder Singh to New Delhi for questioning on Monday in the wake of some discrepancies in his statement to the NIA and Punjab police following his claims of alleged abduction by the terrorists. The NIA has also preserved the body tissues of the slain terroists for DNA sampling — evidence that can later be shared with Islamabad to ascertain the identities of suspected Pakistani nationals. The DNA samples were also picked up from both the vehicles used by the terrorists and sent for foresnic examination.

The NIA is also examining the role of any drug cartels that are operating in the border region, and whether there was any connivance or lapses in security that allowed the terrorists to cross over and carry out the attack.

Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh had in a statement to the NIA claimed he was abducted while riding a personal vehicle that was hijacked and later used by the terrorists on the night of December 31. Top sources said if the NIA was not convinced with the SP’s statements during his questioning, it may approach the court for permission to subject him to a polygraph test. A lie-detector test might also be conducted on others under the scanner once their questioning is over and if their answers are found to be insufficient or contradictory.

On Friday, the NIA continued its questioning of the SP’s jeweller friend Rajesh Kumar Verma and an employee of the Army Military Engineering Services, among others, at Pathankot to dig out more details and find missing links to the terror conspiracy.

The NIA has also picked up some footprints in the fields of border village Bamiyal on the India-Pakistan frontier and the IAF base in Pathankot and sent them to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh, for matching as this would help ascertain the route taken by the terrorists in their infiltration.

NIA teams have fanned out to various areas in Pathankot and adjoining Gurdaspur district for collecting evidence and examining witnesses. The NIA has got the call details of Ikagar Singh, the taxi driver who was killed by the terrorists, and also the location of mobile towers through which the signals for those calls were routed.

On Friday, NIA director-general Sharad Kumar had a detailed meeting with the Intelligence Bureau top brass and also called on Union home minister Rajnath Singh and gave him a detailed briefing on investigations carried out so far. The NIA later said all the arms and ammunition used by the terrorists in the attack had been seized.

“These include AK series rifles, pistols, grenades and assorted ammunition. Other articles found on the body of the militants and strewn around at the crime scene and suspected to be belonging to the terrorists have been seized,” it said in a statement. Other items seized by NIA teams include food articles and medicine carried by the six terrorists, even as the sleuths are scouring the IAF base to “trace the evidence left behind by terrorists”.

The NIA has registered three cases over the Pathankot IAF base attack. The first pertains to Salwinder Singh’s abduction and the second for the killing of the taxi driver. Both cases were registered at Narot Jaimal Singh police station in Pathankot district. The third and main case, that was registered at Police Station Division No. 2 Pathankot, relates to the terrorist attack on the airbase itself. India has claimed the terrorists had been directly in touch with their handlers in Pakistan, including Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar.