Pathankot air base attack: Guns, a dagger and perfume, what the terrorists carried

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Pathankot air base attack: Guns, a dagger and perfume, what the terrorists carried

The terrorists were also carrying several items of medication — four painkiller injections, one syringe, an eye drop, seven painkiller tablets, 21 cough tablets, two bandages (1x10 cm and 1x4 cm), two Betadine ointments and a burn set

Written by Sagnik Chowdhury | New Delhi | Updated: January 14, 2016 The NIA had recovered a mobile phone, an AK-47 magazine and a pair of binoculars from the airbase Tuesday.

AK-47 assault rifles, a grenade launcher, a dagger, cough tablets and some perfume are among things the Pathankot airbase attackers were carrying, recoveries made by the Air Force and the National Security Guard have revealed. A wire cutter recovered by the Air Force also strengthens the theory that the terrorists entered the base by scaling its 11-ft wall and snipping concertina wires, sources told The Indian Express.

On the Air Force’s list of arms, ammunition and equipment, accessed by The Indian Express, are four AK-47 assault rifles, three pistols, one Under Barrel Grenade Launcher, 29 AK-47 magazines, seven pistol magazines, 559 live rounds of 7.62 ammunition, 47 pistol rounds, a dagger, a multi-tool, a black-coloured wire tape, a first-aid box and a knife pad. Bomb disposal squads of the NSG and the Army have also destroyed 21 grenades.

The terrorists were also carrying several items of medication — four painkiller injections, one syringe, an eye drop, seven painkiller tablets, 21 cough tablets, two bandages (1×10 cm and 1×4 cm), two Betadine ointments, a burn set and three vials of ithar (perfume). Also recovered were two Rs 500 notes, a motivational note hailing the Jaish-e-Muhammad and two combat rucksacks.

On Wednesday, the NIA recovered a Chinese wireless set from Punjab SP Salwinder Singh’s car, in which the terrorists travelled to the airbase on the night of December 31-January 1. It has been sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory and the National Technical Research Organisation to retrieve the data, which had been deleted. “The set is similar to a wireless set recovered from the site of an attack in Sambha, J&K, last year,” the Home Ministry said. Officials said this indicated that both attacks were executed by the same outfit, the JeM.

The NIA had recovered a mobile phone, an AK-47 magazine and a pair of binoculars from the airbase Tuesday.

Addressing the media on Wednesday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that ammunition and equipment recovered from the terrorists indicate they came from across the border. Army Chief Dalbir Singh also said “the markings of the medicines indicate they came from there”.

With only four AK-47 rifles being found so far — there were a total of six attackers — the NIA has approached the CFSL to ascertain if it is possible for such firearms to completely melt, leaving behind no fragments, in a powerful explosion.

Meanwhile, after being examined for three consecutive days at the NIA headquarters in New Delhi, Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh will be examined again on Thursday, a Home Ministry spokesperson said.

The NIA has also summoned Singh’s cook Madan Gopal and the caretaker of a shrine in Punjab which Singh claimed to have visited before being waylaid by terrorists.

The route taken by terrorists from the point of abduction of the SP to the airbase has also been determined, and CCTV footage along the route is being collected, the Home Ministry said.

Villages along the route are being searched for evidence, such as clothes or electronic devices, left behind by the terrorists.

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