Chinks show up in Indian armour as Salwinder Singh is grilled

Former Gurdaspur Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh, whose official car with beacon lights was used by the terrorists to get a free passage to Pathankot airbase, has been taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency and being questioned for the second day on Tuesday. Along with Salwinder, his cook has also been taken into custody. The cook, Madan Gopal, has alleged that he has been tortured for informing the top police about the terrorists. During the interrogation, Salwinder is said to be coming out with dubious answers. He is not sticking to any one account, and often changing his answers to queries. Owing to the highly sensitive nature of the issue and Salwinder's disastrous role in the matter that in fact triggered the Pathankot airbase attack, the NIA is continuing to interrogate the former Superintendent of Police. The very fact that he went on a secret mission with his cook and jeweller in the dead of the night is adding to his confused mindset. Top police official of SP's level, Salwinder is not sure of the exact number of terrorists that accosted him and abducted his car. Asked how was it that the terrorists had killed the alert driver of the earlier car and spared him when he was coming in his official car, Salwinder's answer is real funny. Although he was traveling in a car with beacon lights, Salwinder claims that he had convinced the terrorists that he was a civilian and the common man. When Salwinder was Gurdaspur SP, there was a terrorist incident in the border district. After his transfer to Pathankot as the head of an armed battalion, again there was this Pathankot terror attack, described as graver than 26/11 in logistic terms. Salwinder's role for the present is direct in the Pathankot terror attack. The NIA would do well to question him on all terror attacks in Punjab, Jammu and beyond, considering his direct involvement and dubious answers. The scale of the Pathankot terror attack is unprecedented, considering the staying power and firing power of the Pakistani-based terrorists. Salwinder should, therefore, be made to share his knowledge for each of the terror attacks in India, considering he was in key positions in the key State of Punjab. In fact, the whole of the Punjab police had never given a good account of themselves in the last couple of years. Whether this aspect has something to do with Salwinder or a police ring exists in the Punjab police also should be found out. The Central agencies should take over border surveillance, because law and order being state subject does not work such as in the case of Salwinder situations. Drug smuggling is well known in the Punjab-Pakistan border, and Salwinder's knowledge in this regard should also be taken. Central agencies and security forces must act with a holistic mind. Otherwise the fire-fighting methods on each terror-incident basis will never bring in an overall solution.