A day after a > top government official claimed that three of the 10 terrorists , information about whose infiltration was provided by Pakistan National Security Adviser Naseer Khan Janjua, were killed in an operation “somewhere in western India,” no further details were provided by the government in Parliament on Wednesday.
Raising the issue in Lok Sabha, Hyderabad Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi asked Home Minister Rajnath Singh to furnish a reply on the subject on the floor of the House.
“I want to say that three terrorists have been killed in Gujarat. The Home Minister should have given a statement in Parliament. It’s a shame that we get to know from newspapers and television reports that seven of them are still roaming free. Isn’t this a disrespect of Parliament? The Home Minister should tell the House whether those killed were actually terrorists or not? Where are the other seven?” Mr. Owaisi told Lok Sabha while participating in a debate on the Pathankot operations.
Several intelligence and State police officials The Hindu spoke to had no information on any such operation being carried out anywhere in the country.
“We still have no information on the operation where three terrorists have been killed,” said a senior official in the intelligence set-up.
Mr. Janjua informed his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval in the first week of March that 10 Pakistan-based terrorists could have infiltrated into India, possibly through the Gujarat coast. Security was stepped up and intelligence agencies were asked to track down the alleged infiltrators. The Gujarat police were put on high alert and National Security Guard (NSG) commandos were rushed to secure the famous Somnath temple on the Gujarat coast.
The top government official had claimed that the operation was conducted last Friday and officials were still “cross-checking” details.
Three of the terrorists had been killed and search was on for the remaining seven. The official also said the terror suspects could also belong to “a third country.”
