Ten days after a security officer at Hotel Oberoi testified about the National Security Guards (NSG) officer Lt Col RK Sharma’s participation during the 26/11 terror attacks, NSG director-general informed the Mumbai police that there was no such officer by that name and designation.
On September 24, Rajesh Kadam, an assistant chief security officer at Oberoi, had said that Lt Col Sharma had led the NSG operation at Oberoi-Trident on November 28, 2008.
First additional principal judge ML Tahaliyani said that since the evidence Kadam provided was second-hand, he issued summons to Sharma which was sent to the NSG headquarters in New Delhi.
However, special prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam informed the court on Monday that the police had received a fax from the NSG director-general saying that no officer with the name and designation of Sharma works with the NSG.
The court ordered senior inspector Ramesh Mahale, the investigating officer, to find out the correct name, designation and address of the NSG officer mentioned by Kadam in his testimony.
The crime branch is likely to fax the details of the operation at Oberoi as narrated by Kadam to the NSG director-general. Nikam also informed the court that the prosecution does not intend to record the statements of the NSG officers who took part in the operation at Hotel Taj and Nariman House and submitted a six-page report on the same.
According to the report, the prosecution has enough evidence to prove the attacks and the NSG commandos need not be examined, said an officer. However, Tahaliyani said that he will take a decision on whether he should summon the commandos “in exercise of his powers” on Tuesday.
