Did NSG ignore plea to rescue security guards during Pathankot attack?

An Indian Air Force officer’s statement to the NIA has claimed that the NSG did not ‘pay heed’ to pleas to rescue two defense personnel during last year’s Pathankot attackers

A statement by an Air Force officer claiming that the National Security Guard did not pay heed for rescuing defence guards under fire from terrorists at the Pathankot air base (in January 2016) is being examined by the National Investigation Agency. The officer tells the NIA that he heard on the radio transmission that defence security personnel saying that one person is dead. "Two are wounded, please somebody come evacuate us," else we would die, the officer also said while quoting one of the personnel he had heard on the transmission.

The officer says that he had asked the NSG brigadier leading the commando team to get one team for rescue. "But he paid no heed," the officer also said. The NIA, which filed the chargesheet in the Pathankot attack speaks about this incident, but does not go more into detail. There are no details as to why such an incident had taken place.

NSG sources however had denied this allegation and has said that this information is not correctand claims that it was their commandos who rescued the people. "There were foreign students and families that were residing at the air base. The NSG was tasked with the rescue work, apart from killing the terrorists," the officer informed.

The attack

On January 2, 2016, militants of the Jaish-e-Mohammad carried out an attack at the airbase in which 6 Indian Air Force personnel and one NSG officer died. The NIA states that the attackers gained entry into India on December 30, 2015. They waited a day before entering the air base on January 1. The terrorists stayed at the air base for nearly 24 hours and launched the attack on January 2 at 2.45 am.

OneIndia News