NIA teams have fanned out to various areas in Pathankot and adjoining Gurdaspur district for collecting evidence related to the audacious terror strike on the IAF base of Pathakot during intervening night of January one and two, official sources said.
The sources said that summons have been issued to Salwinder Singh, who is at present Assistant Commandant of 75th battalion of Punjab Armed Police, to appear before the agency for thorough questioning as there were some discrepancies in his statement to NIA and Punjab Police.
Singh, along with his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal, were allegedly kidnapped by terrorists on the intervening night of December 31 and January one before they entered the IAF base in Pathankot and carried out a terror strike on the following intervening night in which seven security personnel including a Lt Colonel of NSG were killed.
Singh was recently shunted as SP (headquarters) of Gurdaspur following allegation of breach of discipline.
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NIA has also picked up some foot prints from a field near Bamiyal village on Indo-Pak border as well as from the site of encounter at the air base, the sources said, adding the same have been sent to CFSL Chandigarh for matching as this would help in understanding the route for infiltration used by the terrorists.
The NIA has registered three cases in connection with the
terror strike at Pathankot IAF base.
The first case pertains to Salwinder Singh's abduction and the second for the killing of the taxi driver. Both the cases were registered at Narot Jaimal Singh Police Station in Pathankot district.
The third and the main case, registered at Police Station Division No. 2 Pathankot, relates to the terrorist attack on the Air Force Station.
A 20-member team of NIA led by an Inspector General-rank officer has been camping at Pathankot since January 2 to supervise the ongoing investigations.
The NIA registered the case under various sections of Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Arms Act against unknown persons, official sources said.
The NIA said that body tissues of the killed terrorists
have been preserved for DNA sampling after their post mortmem was conducted at the Pathankot civil hospital yesterday.
The investigating teams also picked up DNA samples from both the vehicles used by the terrorists and these have been sent for foresnic examination.
"Similarly, the footprints suspected to belong to the terrorists have been lifted by forensic experts from Bamihal village (in Pathankot) in border areas and from within the airforce station an sent to CFSL for examination," the agency said in a statement.
"These include AK series rifles, pistols, grenades and assorted ammunition. Other articles found on the body of the militants and strewn around at crime scene and suspected to be belonging to the terrorists have been seized," it said.
Other items seized by NIA teams include food articles and medicine carried by the six terrorists even as they are scouring the IAF station area to "trace the evidence left behind by terrorists."
NIA teams are also camping in three districts of Punjab to verify the facts and examine witnesses in close cooperation with Punjab police, it said.