In Gurdaspur, SWAT does Punjab Police proud

Chandigarh, July 27: A 28-member team of Punjab's Police's SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team on Monday led from the front to battle and kill heavily armed terrorists who stormed a police station complex in Dinanagar town in Gurdaspur district.

The SWAT team, along with commandos and personnel from the Punjab Police, engaged the three heavily armed terrorists in a fierce gun battle for nearly 11 hours.

Despite specialised personnel from the army and the National Security Guard (NSG) reaching Dinanagar, the Punjab Police decided to take on the terrorists, with the SWAT taking the lead.

The army, NSG and paramilitary troopers were on standby.

The SWAT was floated four years back by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also the home minister, to establish a crack commando force in Punjab.

"The idea has borne fruit with the SWAT giving a befitting reply to Pakistan-controlled terrorists who struck at Dinanagar," Badal said here.

"The SWAT team, which is four years old, put its training to good use by successfully bringing down all three heavily armed terrorists at Dinanagar in a no holds barred fight," he said.

Badal said the idea to form a highly trained commando outfit followed the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack of 2008 when crucial time was lost because the NSG team was stationed in Delhi.

"The new team created in Punjab is not only equipped with the latest weaponry but has been trained by Israeli experts. Moreover they are highly motivated and equipped to handle every exigency," he added.

The SWAT team deployed in Dinanagar was involved in an exercise at Amritsar and therefore could be deployed in Gurdaspur immediately, Badal said.

Seven people, including a senior police officer, three Home Guards and three civilians, were killed in the terror attack.

IANS