I thought we were called for mock drill: SWAT member

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 29

It was celebration time at the house of Sid (name withheld due to security reasons), a crucial member of the Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT) team that killed three terrorist at the Dinanagar police station.

Recounting the operation, Sid said he was undergoing training session at Amritsar along with other team members. When they reached their quarters, they were informed about the terrorist attack.

“Initially we thought it was a mock drill and immediately took whatever weapon and protective gears we could lay our hands on. While we were being driven to Gurdaspur, the news began to trickle. Wirelesses and mobiles phones were buzzing continuously. Till then we got a clear idea that it is time for some real action,” he said.

On reaching the site, he saw police engaging in fierce gun battle with terrorists. “Three of our men were down. Brave SP Baljit Singh laid down his life fighting with the terrorist. We then saw NSG commando paratrooping from helicopters on one of the buildings. Army soldiers too were taking position. However, DGP Sumedh Singh Saini showed confidence in us and gave us the opportunity to lead the operation,” said Sid.

They swung into action around 2 pm. “We had no clue about the number of terrorists holding up in the police station. Some injured said they were five, including a woman. We began engaging them in gun battle. They were firing after brief intervals. In the meantime, a terrorist lobbed a grenade at us. One of our team members got injured. For a second, it shocked us. We surrounded the building and started coordinated firing. We also retaliated with some grenades,” revealed Sid. It was 4 pm and the time was ticking. A special team of 40 policemen led by Ludhiana Commissioner Pramod Ban was getting ready to take charge for further action.

The SWAT team feared that building was housed in a residential area. Perhaps the terrorist were planning to blow up the building. “We had no idea how much of ammunition the terrorist were carrying. Finally, we decided to storm the police station and neutralise the terrorists. We divided ourselves in various team, a team kept providing us the covering fire. By this time one of the terrorists was dead. Soon after entering the police station we took our position and gunned down the remaining two,” he said.

By 5 pm, the mission was accomplished.