Gallantry awards for ITPB personnel’s role in Afghanistan Attack

Three Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel hailing from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand will be awarded the President’s Police Gallantry medal for thwarting the suicide attack on the Indian consulate in Herat in Afghanistan on May 23.

Sources in the MHA revealed that Inspector Manjit Singh from Sonepat in Haryana, Constable Rakesh Kumar from Shamli in Uttar Pradesh and Constable Praveen Kumar from Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand were at the forefront in neutralising the suicide attack by the Taliban militia.

In what is touted as the fourth major fidayan attack on the Indian missions in recent times, four Tali ban suicide attackers tried to force entry into the Indian consulate at Herat at about 3.30am on May 23, by launching a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) over its wall. Preliminary inquiries suggest that the four suicide attackers were supported by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist outfit active in south Asia, operating primarily from Pakistan, sources in the MHA said.

Constables Rakesh and Praveen, who stood guard at the consulate’s entrance, returned the fire killing one of the attackers on the spot. Meanwhile, inspector Manjit also reached the spot and instructed the ITBP troops to neutralise the remaining three attackers. They were later killed in the exchange of fire between the two groups which lasted till noon.

Deputy commandant Vivek Kumar Pandey, spokesman of the ITBP, said the director general of police (DGP), ITBP, decided to recommend names of five personnel to the MHA for the medal. He added, “The DG has sought two more names from Herat, of the ITBP personnel who killed the attackers.”

Herat: Militants went unnoticed as no CCTV cameras on road

It took 44 seconds for the Indo Tibetan Border Police personnel to neutralise the lone militant who managed to sneak in at the Indian consulate building in Afghanistan’s Herat, said a senior official. Due to objections raised by local women, Indian authorities are prohibited from installing CCTV cameras that could have captured images of militants proceeding towards the compound as the attack took place in the early hours on May 23. All the CCTV cameras are installed inside the complex, located in a crowded residential area. It was PTZ camera number 14, facing the internal walls of the compound that captured the leg of the gunman. The ITBP personnel monitoring control room immediately raised an alarm and the intruder was shot dead.

Investigations revealed that the attack was aimed at the office-cum-residence of consul general Amit Mishra as the only shell fired from a rocket propelled grenade launcher landed below his room. The maximum damage, officials said, was to his residence and it seemed they wanted to create a hostage situation as the gunman killed inside the compound had enough ammunition and dry fruits on him to have lasted three-four days. The other three gunmen suspected to belong to Lashkar-e-Toiba were killed by the Afghan security forces.

“The gunmen had taken refuge in a nearby building so they could aim at the consul general’s room. The personnel were asked to sparingly use their ammunition even though the Afghan security personnel managed the situation outside the compound,” said an official.

Following the incident, the Afghan security forces have intensified security around the compound. “Another High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) has been stationed around the compound and the Afghan authorities have increased the number of security personnel,” said a senior official. ITBP has submitted a preliminary report to the MHA on the incident.

When foreign secretary Sujatha Singh visited Afghanistan last week, authorities suggested the consulate building could be shifted to an area away from crowded residential area.

DG ITBP Subhash Goswami, who visited Afghanistan after the attack, said they would recommend President’s Police Medal for Gallantry for the five jawans who thwarted the attack.

Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/herat-militants-went-unnoticed-as-no-cctv-cameras-on-road/

Afghan President Hamid Karzai lauded the Indo-Tibetan Border Police

NEW DELHI: Even as India has stopped short of blaming any Pakistan-based terrorist group for the attack on its consulate in Heart last Friday, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has blamed the Lashkar-e-Taiba for the strike that was foiled by Afghan security forces and Indian paramilitary forces. Karzai, who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Tuesday, claimed that the Afghanistan government had received information from a Western intelligence agency that the attackers belonged to the LeT.

This is not first time that the LeT has been blamed for an attack on the Indian Embassy or consulates in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan President did not name the agency, which gave a written report to the Afghanistan government in this regard. Besides, Karzai, whose comments came at a time when Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was still in India, did not blame Pakistan directly for the attack in Herat last Friday. Karzai shared the information with a select section of the media on Tuesday before leaving for Kabul. He was in India to participate in Modi's swearing-in ceremony held on the previous evening.

The outgoing Afghan President also lauded the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel and the Afghan National Security Forces for their response. "Herat attack was very clearly a terror strike against Indian and Afghan interests. The Indian and Afghan security forces were alert and they prevented major damage to life and property," Karzai said. While he did not specify whether he had shared the information with Modi, he is understood to have shared information with the Indian authorities.

Asked whether India and Afghanistan were victims of cross-border terror emanating from Pakistan, Karzai said, "Both Afghanistan and India hope that Islamabad would act against terror sanctuary." Pointing out that India has been a great friend of Afghanistan for decades, Karzai said, "We have given a weapons wish list to the Indian government. Some equipment has been supplied and the remaining will hopefully be done." India has worked out a deal with close ally Russia to supply arms as desired by Afghanistan. Responding to a question on whether a Taliban government could return to Kabul, Karzai said, "All powers in the region need to come together to defeat terror."

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/35644252.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst