Gurdaspur SP given clean-chit in Pathankot case
According to official sources, Senior Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh was given a clean-chit by the NIA after they began probing his role in the Pathankot air base attack. Sources within the NIA stated that the scientific tests including the lie-detector test found nothing adverse against him. They added that searches of his residence and investigations of his documents revealed nothing incriminating against him.
After the attack on the Pathankot Air Force base commenced, it emerged that a senior police officer from Gurdaspur, SP Salwinder Singh, was abducted by individuals in army fatigues. The individuals assaulted Singh, his friend and his cook, before dropping them off near Pathankot and driving away in Singh's SUV. It was revealed that the attackers were the same terrorists who attacked the base.
The NIA sought to understand the sequence of events leading to the Pathankot attack, and moved to verify SP SIngh's statements on his kidnapping. The NIA took Salwinder to visit the places he went to before being kidnapped by the terrorists. The NIA has sought call details of Singh, his friend and his cook to ascertain their whereabouts on the day of the attack.
According to sources, the NIA was likely to subject Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh to a polygraph test in order to corroborate his story on his alleged kidnapping by terrorists. Official sources stated that there were discrepancies in Singh's statements to authorities regarding the details of the day he was kidnapped. NIA sources said the tests would be condcuted either in Delhi or Bangalore.
Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh appeared before the NIA for questioning over his alleged role in the Pathankot attacks. Sources say he will also be probed to ascertain any possible links he may have with criminals and cross-border drug mafia. The investigation into the SP was initiated after the NIA suspected him of withholding crucial evidence and giving misleading statements regarding his kidnapping by terrorists.
A senior NIA officer refuted suggestions that Singh was given a clean chit, saying that "the investigation is still under way" and if anything adverse was found against him, the option of arresting him was "very much open".
Senior officials with the NIA stated that they will conduct polygraph tests on Gurdaspur SP's friend Rajesh Verma and his cook Madan Gopal in connection with the Pathankot attack. Verma and the cook were with SP Salwinder Singh when he was kidnapped as they were visiting a shrine close to Gurdaspur. The caretaker of the shrine, Somraj, will also be brought in for tests.
