Naval officers on mock drill mistaken as terrorists, held

Six Navy officers, participating in a mock-drill in Daman on Thursday, were mistaken for armed terrorists by residents, leading to their brief detention by the police.

They were released after the Western Naval Command in Mumbai confirmed their identities, said Daman SP Eish Singhal. Residents of the Nani Daman area alerted the police about suspicious movements of six persons in military uniform on Wednesday, thinking they could be terrorists.

“We have launched a manhunt. We also found a CCTV footage showing these uniformed men,” said Singhal.

Police found a boat on the coast near Kadaiya. “We then found five persons, who were not in uniform, standing by a mini-truck. They told us that they had come here to take the delivery of some material which weighs 200 kg,” said Sighal. This prompted the police to intensify the search.

Around 1.45 am, the police finally nabbed six men in uniform near the Coast Guard Air Station in Nani Daman area. “They were in full uniform and carrying AK-47 rifles. We found that they were Navy officers who had come by their boat ‘Gemini’. They had been sent here by the Navy for a mock-drill called Defence of Gujarat Exercise,” he said.