NSG's anti-terrorist drill arouses public curiosity

National Security Guard (NSG) commandos Saturday conducted an anti-terrorist exercise at an entertainment park here, arousing curiosity among onlookers.

Even police were initially in the dark about it when residents contacted them asking about the "attack".

Over 200 NSG commandos conducted the mock drill at the Kingdom Of Dreams (KOD) in sector 29 at about 1 a.m.

The Black Cats, as they have come to be known, reached the spot following "information" of a terror strike by terrorists, including "fidayeen" (suicide bombers).

The commandos, from their base camp in Manesar and equipped with weapons, including bomb disposal robot, vehicles and dog squad, acted on the information that the attackers were holding some people hostage in KOD.

The counter-terrorism force "rescued" the "hostages" and "gunned down" a few "terrorists" after the mock exercise of more than an hour.

"It was our routine counter-terrorism exercise we conduct from time-to-time. The selection of the spot is done on some parameters and we do not disclose it prior to the exercise," a senior NSG officer told IANS.

"Usually people watching the exercise get confused," he said.

"Some people called the police control room about the happening and wanted to know what had actually happened. A few people reached sector 29 police station and also informed media persons regarding the 'attack'," a police officer said.

The police who by then had learnt about the exercise updated residents about the drill.