Was PM the target this Aug 15?

Updated On: 02 September, 2009 07:50 AM IST | | Ali Yasir/Shashank Shekhar

The ID card of an official who was part of PM cavalcade Got snatched and cops couldn't recover it before celebrations. There's still no trace of it

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The ID card of an official who was part of PM cavalcade got snatched and cops couldn't recover it before celebrations. There's still no trace of it

Delhi was turned into a fortress this August 15, like every year on I-Day, especially around Red Fort from where the Prime Minister addressed the nation. Commandos of the elite National Security Guards (NSG), snipers, bomb disposal squad, sniffer dog squads, anti-aircraft guns kept the area sanitised.

On target: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh waving at the Red Fort on August 15
pic/Rajeev Tyagi

That was something we all knew. And saw on television screens. What we didn't know and was never reported was that there was a potential lapse in the security, and even after more than 15 days, it is yet to be plugged.
A special identity card, issued to officials deployed in the PM's security, got lost just two days ahead of Dr Manmohan Singh assuring the nation that all is well with India. An assistant ambulance officer deployed in the Prime Minister's security setup was looted at knife-point at Nand Nagri in east Delhi. An ambulance is mandatory in the Prime Minister's cavalcade. His Prime Minister's security ID card was among various cards and cash that the armed assailants took away. Sompal (real name withheld on request) was going to attend the I-Day dress rehearsal on August 13 when two men of heavy built intercepted him around 4 am.

"One of them twisted my hand and held my throat while the other took out a knife," Sompal told MiD DAY. "The guy almost choked me. I fell unconscious and they took away my Prime Minister's security card, two ATM cards, PAN card and driving licence," he added.

The spot from where Sompal was attacked is just a few metres away from Meet Nagar police post. When Sompal recovered a few minutes later, he approached the cops on duty at the police post. "I had to leave for the rehearsal and was getting late. I informed them and left," Sompal said.

Defence Minister AK Antony waiting for the Prime Minister to come out of his car surrounded by his special security staff at Red Fort on Independence Day
Pic/Rajeev Tyagi