Bharat Rakshak

NSG brings training, experience & other hard skills, however soft skills like intel, understanding lay of land and liaising with local populace are always provided by local police and IB. If we built in training & hard skills into these local forces, we dont need NSG in the first place.

But you still dont get the big picture, do you?

Because of NSG operators training and experience, it should be the last line of defence and not first or only line as suggested by you. Mumbai Police ATS/Crime Branch is the first line, that doesn’t train. Force 1 is the next line that has an officer crunch. Stationing NSG in Mumbai & other cities makes it the first line/last line/only line of defence, and no other cards remaining.

NSG is the trump card. In an ideal situation, it shouldn’t be dealt. Ideally Mumbai Police ATS/Crime Branch/Force 1 officers/constables who perform should move up NSG.

Pakistan picks up dregs off its streets and look at the cost we paid man-to-man. And even worse, we’re forced to divert precious resources and personnel defending the hinterland. This is the real Pakistani objective – diverting resources and attention. Every Army Officer deputed to NSG in Mumbai or Chennai is one less in Kashmir or Kutch. So during their next Kargil type adventure will face IA battalions with depleted officer strength.

^^^+1..There is no alternative to a local police SWAT team for first line of defence in CT/HR situations..The problem with this NSG solution is 3 folds:

1. Manpower - its not just a case of "stretching thin"...Its also a case of maintaining the "elitism" of the unit...FBI HRT for example, AFAIK has operators in low 3 digit numbers. ..An "elite unit" of 2000 cannot maintain their cutting edge if their numbers are required to beefed up to 7000 in quick time..

Ideally speaking, the NSG was never required to be raised. The army's special forces (or a JSOC-type organisation in the future) had the wherewithal to create a world-class CT force permanently on call for all contingencies. Something on the lines of the SAS's Counter Revolutionary Warfare wing. But seeing as the NSG already has already well established and already has extensive training infrastructure, and recruits from all state police forces, it needs to be the nodal agency for all CT training nationwide.

Something on the lines of the SAS's Counter Revolutionary Warfare wing.

The NSG was specifically raised to not have the regular SF tackle such domestic contigencies. The impetus for NSG was Op Bluestar in 1984, where the use of army special forces escalated the situation in the eyes of the people.

Prime example is Karnataka, where the NSG was used for combing operations for Veerappan! The NSG, very rightly, walked of the operation since they are not geared for such ops and it's not part of their SOP resulting in underutilization of resources.

Actually that is incorrect. NSG was primarily formed because both SFF and 1 Para Cdo proved to have inadequate skills in CQB and hostage rescue during the operation.

But as I said, the public 'saw' the military being deployed than a 'police' force. Perception makes a difference as no one recounts Op Black Thunder as a dark hour, although it was pretty intense as well. Bluestar stoked the flames of the Khalistani movement while Black Thunder broke its back and put it on the death bed

Actually that is incorrect. NSG was primarily formed because both SFF and 1 Para Cdo proved to have inadequate skills in CQB and hostage rescue during the operation.

Not really Marut-ji..the difference between BS and BT was not the force that was executing the ops, but the nature of carrying out the ops itself...BS involved a military force with heavy artillery and tanks barging into the temple..BW was a more nuanced "light infantry" ops that simply involved surrounding the temple to wear the terrorists out...KPS Gill explains the latter quite well in his book..

BTW, BT, while being a successful ops, didnt really "break the back" of the militancy..That had to wait for the elections that put Beant Singh in charge.....And the border fencing to be completed...and of course the tacit agreement with Pak, which in turn was facilitated by the successful RAW (JIT-X) campaign within Pak..

The 1st western CT/HRT group NSG looked at was the GSG-9 not GIGN.

"Saquib, killed in Anantnag on Sunday following a tip-off, turned out to be a relative of Shahid Afridi ," BSF Inspector General Vijay Raman said.

A top Hizbul Mujahideen militant was today killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian in Kashmir Valley, officials said.

Mohammad Zahid alias Abu Zaid, a resident of Doda district in Jammu region, was killed after a brief exchange of firing with security forces at Tharina village in Keller area of Shopian.

They said Zahid opened indiscriminate firing on security personnel and was killed in retaliatory action.

One AK rifle and some ammunition have been seized from the slain militant.

...

Since 2002, the Kashmir militants' movement over the LoC has fallen significantly, partly because India has fenced the previously porous frontier but also because Pakistan has imposed tough restrictions on the movement of the fighters.

CONTROLLING THE LINE OF CONTROL

"There's been a huge impact. Previously, about 50 mujahideen (Islamist fighters) used to cross to occupied Kashmir a month, now hardly five are able to do so," said Abu Huzaifa Kashmiri, a member of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen militant group, who now runs a hotel in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir.

...

Five CRPF personnel were killed and three injured when a commander's escort vehicle was blown up in a landmine blast by Naxals in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.

Commander of CRPF's 2nd battalion Arvind Rai escaped unhurt in the attack which occurred when he was travelling with the jawans from Kerlapal to Sukma in Dantewada district, 280 kms from here, Additional Director General of Police Ramniwas said.

The vehicle which was following Rai's jeep was blown up in the blast, killing the five jawans on the spot.

Additional forces have been rushed to the site and the injured have been admitted to Jagdalpur hospital, he said.

The officer said that the Supreme Court had directed withdrawal of jawans from schools in Naxal-hit areas and Rai had gone to Kerlapal in connection with the setting up of a new barrack.

He was returning from the visit when the Naxals carried out the attack.

Security forces have intensified combing operations in the area, he said.

'Kashmiri children look on at an Indian police official during clashes with demonstrators demanding the release of Pro-Independence leader Muhammed Yasin Malik, in Srinagar on April 29, 2011. Security forces in Indian Kashmir fired teargas and used batons on April 29 to disperse pro-freedom demonstrators protesting the arrest of a key separatist in the region\'s summer capital Srinagar.

Seeing a shotgun being used by Indian forces for the first time ever. They must be using it to fire teargas shells or something, but I guess they can be loaded with conventional ammunition too.

Can someone identify that shotgun? Make? Model? Type?

The shotgun doesn't have the calibre (usually about 40mm) to be used for tear gas cartridges.

Anti Riot role by use of Rubber Ball non-lethal ammunition

F1 cannot grow until it is made to apply for entire Maharashtra and given a place above the Mumbai police in terms of chain of command/heirarchy. Else it is going to be a still born which will die in due course.

The harsh realities of counter-insurgency operations

Questions are often asked why several columns of soldiers could not eliminate two or three terrorists hiding in the jungles of Jammu and Kashmir, or why it takes so long to kill a lone terrorist.

That's largely because of the state's topography and terrain, particularly in the densely-forested mountainous areas, some as high as 10,000 feet above sea level.

One such instance is a month-long operation in the thick forests of the mountainous areas of Surankote in Poonch district at a height of 8,000 feet, an area that quite often experiences rain during the summer and snow during the winter.

A spokesman of the 16 Corps of the Indian Army on Friday gave an account of the month-long operation in the Surankote area, 210 km north of Jammu.

"Relentless operations by Romeo Force (a counter-insurgency wing of the army responsible for operations in Rajouri and Poonch districts) and Jammu and Kashmir Police in the past one month have caused a huge loss to (Pakistan-based terror group) Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)."

According to him, the operation started on April 28. "Based on specific intelligence regarding the presence of a group of five LeT militants in the forest areas of Surankote, troops of Romeo Force and police launched operations on April 28. Braving bad weather conditions in difficult and rugged forested mountainous areas, the troops continued their search operations and succeeded in maintaining pressure on the hiding militants."

"The group of militants was on the run and kept shifting places during the hours of darkness. Prolonged operations by the security forces resulted in the busting of militant hideouts and recovery of large quantities of rations, bedding and other logistic stores," the spokesman said.

Due to the vastness of the area, with thick forests and undergrowth, physical contact with the militants could not be established. "The security forces kept their cool and continued the combing and search operations without a break. Finding it difficult to escape from the cordon, in the beginning of May, the militants split into two groups and tried to cross a big stream in the upper reaches. While doing so, two militants got washed away," the spokesman said.

The remaining militants conveyed telephonic messages to this effect to their handlers and masters across the Line of Control that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan. They identified the drowned militants as Abu Huzefa alias H2, Chief of LeT for Poonch, Rajouri and Jammu, and Abu Abdullah alias Saifullulah alias Usman Bhai.

"The search operations by the security forces continued to trace the bodies of dead militants as well as to locate the other three militants. On May 20, the body of one militant was recovered from the Suran river near Bafliaz in Surankote. The body was highly decomposed and identified as that of Abu Huzefa. The body of the second militant is yet to be recovered," the spokesman said.

The second group of three militants was on May 23 reported moving in the forested areas of Sauni. "This area is at quite a distance from where the original searches were launched to take on the militants. The troops zeroed in on the group on the night of May 23 at 8 p.m."

"The contact with these militants was established and a firefight commenced. In the encounter, one dreaded militant, Abu Umar Khan Jangwani, was killed and his accomplice injured. Taking cover of the dense forests and darkness, the other two militants managed to escape.

One AK-47 rifle, two rifle magazines, 60 live rounds, two hand grenades and various other items were recovered from the encounter site," the spokesman said.

"Thus, sustained operations and perseverance of the security forces and the police in the past one month have resulted in the deaths of three dreaded LeT militants operating in the Surankote area," the spokesman claimed.

...Though the police and army have stepped up pressure on militants in Sopore, there are reports of militants entering the town almost every week. Security agencies have also failed to nab Abdullah Unny—one of Lashkar’s top-most commanders in Kashmir who operates from Sopore. Police say Unny has identified and trained new overground workers and made inroads into new areas. In the beginning of 2010, the Lashkar was back in the Sopore-Rafiabad belt in full strength besides being a driving force for Lashkar cadre elsewhere in the Valley. Unny, police say, has turned Sopore into the first stop for Lashkar militants who enter Kashmir.

With both the police and the militants keeping their ears close to the ground, a hide-and-seek game has begun in Sopore. “If you want to know what will be the temperature of militancy in Kashmir, check the rise of mercury in Sopore,’’ says a police officer. “The battle is already on in this town. Let’s see what happens,” he says.....

SRINAGAR, June 27: Two hardcore militants, including a self-styled divisional commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit, were killed in a 12-hour long gun-battle in Pulwama district in which two Army personnel including an officer were also injured while as a Government employee was shot dead by the ultras in a forest area of Ganderbal district.

Giving details of the encounter, Superintendent of Police Awantipora, Mohammad Irshad said that Police Station Tral recovered inputs last evening that a group of militants has entered the village Koil-Shikargah.

A police party rushed to the spot and laid a cordon of three suspected houses. As the police party was laying a siege of the three suspected houses, it came under fire from one house belonging to Muhammad Yousuf Bhat, the SP said.

Subsequently, the house of Muhammad Yousuf was cordoned and militants were told to surrender, but they paid no heed to this and instead, opened indiscriminate firing on the police personnel. In the meantime, 42 RR and CRPF 280 Battalion joined the operation.

The operation was, however, suspended during night on account of darkness. The security forces maintained a tight vigil on the house and foiled repeated attempts by the militants to flee the besieged area under the cover of darkness.

The security forces re-launched an assault on the militants shortly after dawn and the 12 hour long gun-battle concluded with the killing of both the hiding militants at around 8.30 am. In the encounter, two Army personnel including an officer were also injured and they were rushed to hospital for treatment. Their condition was stated to be out of danger when reports last came in.

From the encounter site, security forces recovered two AK assault rifles, four magazines, 14 rounds, an Under Barrel Grenade Launcher with a grenade and two Chinese hand grenades.

The slain militants have been identified as Muzaffar Ahmad Malla, resident of Tral and Suhail Ahmad Khan, resident of Dadsara-Tral.

Muzaffar, who had received arms training in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, was one of the most wanted militants in South Kashmir, was the divisional commander of HM for South Kashmir. He was nominated as divisional commander after the killing of Sajjad Ahmad alias Balle on April 5 this year.

This proves time and again that the forces are ill equipped and not given night vision aids in fighting these scumbags, who use the cover of darkness to make their move. High time that someone file a PIL on behalf of the Jawans and ensure that proper equipments are issued to ALL units that battles insurgency.