The NIA on Friday issued summons to a Punjab Superintendent of Police, who was allegedly abducted by terrorists involved in the Pathankot attack, to appear before it on Monday for detailed interrogation even as the probe agency has picked up some foot prints in the fields of a border village and the IAF base in Pathankot and sent them to central forensic lab for matching. Official sources did not rule out the possibility of subjecting him to lie detector test.
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 Pathankot during the intervening night of January 1, 2016 and January 2, 2016, the 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.
Mr. Singh, along with his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma and cook Madan Gopal, were allegedly kidnapped by terrorists on the intervening night of December 31, 2015 and January 1, 2016 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.
Mr. Singh was recently shunted as SP (headquarters) of Gurdaspur following allegation of breach of discipline.
NIA has also picked up some foot prints from a field near Bamiyal village on India-Pakistan 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.
NIA Director-General Sharad Kumar on Friday called on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and gave him a detailed briefing on the investigations carried out so far.
The NIA has also sought the call details of Ikagar Singh, the taxi driver who was killed by the terrorists. It has also sought the location of mobile towers through which the signals for those calls were routed. His past history was being also looked into.
