On deputation from Army and other paramilitary forces, the 16-odd doctors with the NSG are distributed all over its garrison at Manesar, the force headquarters at Mehram Nagar and the camps in Samalkha and R K Puram to provide medical services to an estimated 7,500 personnel and their families.

Having more of its own doctors at the operation sites, Dutt said, not only ensures better rapport with the commandos in action but also keeps morale high. “A commando, despite being injured, often doesn’t want to leave the site as adrenalin levels are so high. So you need to have your own doctors who can provide immediate first aid enabling the commando to resume duty immediately,” he said.

Realizing the significance of paramedical staff, Germany’s elite counter-terror force, the GSG-9, on which the NSG is modeled, has increased the number of men in a “hit team” from five to nine, deputing one paramedic with each hit team. Saying that having a paramedic with each hit team is not needed as of now, Dutt said the number of medical officers “needed to be calculated afresh” given the NSG’s expansion plans.

The Central Para Military Forces (CPMFs), too, are reeling under a shortage of doctors and paramedical staff. Almost 20 per cent of the 1,600 posts of doctors and paramedical staff in the CPMFs is currently vacant. The vacancies are more in the Specialist Doctor segment with close to 40-50 per cent of posts out of a total 300 lying vacant.

Admitting that the operations in Mumbai could have been conducted more efficiently had the NSG been better equipped, Dutt, speaking on Walk the Talk, underlined the need for sophisticated equipment.

... contd.