India will send a team of National Security Guard (NSG) officials to Bangladesh to conduct post-blast investigations at the site of the bombings at an Eid prayer gathering near Dhaka on Thursday and the recent terror siege at a restaurant in the upscale diplomatic area of the Bangladeshi capital. Officials said the NSG team has been authorised by the Government to travel to Dhaka after the Special Forces establishment in Bangladesh approved the elite Indian counter-terror force’s request to visit the spots of the terror attacks for a first-hand understanding of the situation.
The team, which includes NSG experts in post-blast analysis and counter-terror operations, will study the July 1 incident where terrorists laid siege to a bakery and killed 22 people and also analyse Thursday’s bombings in Kishoreganj area near Dhaka.
The NSG wanted to study the scenario, in coordination with their Bangladeshi counterparts, as getting an insight into them will not only enhance counter-terror cooperation between the two friendly-neighbours but will also act as a repository of operational knowledge to the commando force.
NSG is the federal counter-terror and counter-hijack commando action force of the country that was raised in 1984.
The team will be in Dhaka over the coming weekend and will gather leads for “analysis and study” of the two terror incidents, official sources said, adding the samples collected from the sites will be subjected to tests in order to analyse the latest trends adopted by the terror groups operating in the region.
In the past, NSG teams have travelled to some other friendly countries as part of their charter to effectively prepare against terrorist incidents.
Radical Islamists on Thursday hurled crude bombs and engaged in a shootout with police in Bangladesh, leaving a policeman and a terrorist dead at Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district where at least 2,00,000 people had gathered for Eid prayers.
The latest incident comes after last week’s deadly attacks in Dhaka during which 22 innocent persons were killed. The victims were mainly foreigners including an Indian girl.