•Was he holding his nerve or was he shaken?

He was quite in control of himself. Probably, the ATS was hard hit and the situation was becoming more and more difficult for the local authorities to deal with.

•If the ATS had not lost its top brass, maybe they would have reacted better?

It’s difficult to talk in ‘ifs’ in a situation like this. The strength of the ATS is also not very large. The training that is required, the mental makeup of the men, the weapons they use, the fire power that is required in an operation like this — probably all that was not available. Last year, in our country there were only one or two forces which were equipped with all sorts of things. The Greyhounds in Andhra Pradesh, for example, have that sort of capability and have been trained by the NSG. Since Operation Black Tornado, we have been receiving requests from almost all the states to train their men. We have to set up the hubs as quickly as possible. Hubs are coming up in Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. The hubs should be as close to the airport as possible. We also need firing ranges, obstacle courses, auditoriums, training areas.

•What was it that you first saw when you came here?

In the aircraft, I had briefed my officers. I told them that we must ensure that there is no loss of innocent lives, no hostages. Second, we should try and keep the collateral damage to the minimum. Third, we try to take the terrorists alive. Fourth, once we leave the place it should be safe for others to use it, no unused grenades that can go off injuring innocent persons. When we came here, we had to dissipate the force a bit to get in another contingent from Delhi. Once the second team was with us, we were able to launch a full-scale operation. The Mumbai Police already had Kasab in their custody. He had been examined and from him, we were able to get information that there were at least 10 terrorists. There was also speculation regarding local contacts. This information was being verified by certain agencies. The NSG is only meant for conducting operations, engaging terrorists and neutralising them. Like the celestial Sudarshan Chakra, we go in quickly and get out, we don’t linger around any operation.

... contd.