Blow-by-blow account: How PM Modi, Ajit Doval & Army chief planned covert strike against militants - The Economic Times
NEW DELHI: An angry Modi government wanted a covert raid across the border in Myanmar within 24 hours of the dastardly attack on the Indian Army on June 4 but Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag said the time was too short for operational preparations and advised a precision strike within 72 hours, ET has learnt.
Two options were on the table on June 4 evening at a meeting where these intense discussions happened - an all-out air bombarding on the camps using Sukhois and MIG-29s or a ground insertion strike by 21 Para Commandoes. The meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar, the Army Chief and IB and R&AW
Chiefs finally decided on a ground operation by special forces as an air strike may have caused "collateral damage" if civilians, women or children were present in the camps. "Any collateral damage may have caused international condemnation," a top government official said. MHA officials are putting the casualty level of insurgents at 38, depending on ground reports from Manipur and Nagaland, while Army is putting the toll at around 20.
"We expected much more damage. But it seems insurgents got an inkling of an impending action and fled. The operation launched at 3 AM on June 9 was monitored live from Delhi by the government top brass," the official told ET.
Officials told ET that Rajnath Singh and Parikkar were of the view at the June 4 meeting that a strike be launched on the morning of June 5 itself since pin-pointed intelligence of presence of insurgent camps in Myanmar was available and initial inputs showed the attackers had gone back to these camps. However, General Suhag said a 72-hour window was required to draw up contours of a precision strike.
On June 5, General Suhag and Ajit Doval went to Manipur to gauge the "striking capacity" and a plan was first drawn up to launch a strike in the wee hours of June 8, government sources said. But with the Prime Minister away to Bangladesh on July 6-7, the security establishment decided to wait for Modi's return to the country and delayed the operation by a day so that the plan should be explained in detail and in person to the PM who had asked for some clarifications from Bangladesh. Modi returned on the night of June 7 and Doval and General Suhag briefed him on June 8 morning regarding the plan. The PM gave a go-ahead immediately.
The 21 Para Commandoes were lying in wait.
Real time satellite and UAV surveillance was obtained to plan the raid and three days of training on a makeshift camp was carried out by the crack troops. Supporting the Para troops were soldiers from regular Army units who formed up on the Indian side of the border for contingency. On June 8 night, the Army Aviation wing pitched in with its Advanced Light Helicopters that dropped the commandoes into position, at a distance from the insurgent camps so that they are not alerted by the sound of the choppers. After the chopper drop, soldiers went in by foot for the final assault. Besides killing the insurgents, militant infrastructure at the camps was also destroyed by the raiding parties. Sources said they had expected casualty levels to be high than the 38 cited by intelligence inputs at present and do not rule out the insurgents to have been
alert and slipping out of the camps as the news of the visit of the Army Chief to Manipur may have given an indicator to insurgents that an action from India was impending.
The government indicates 38 insurgents have been killed --
15 in the camp attacked from the Nagaland side and at least 23 insurgents dead in the attack on a camp from the Manipur side. Seven insurgents are said to be critically injured too. Army says its soldiers did not stay back to count bodies but confirm at least 20 kills.
