Punjab cop to be confronted with cook, shrine caretaker

An SP-rank Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh, kidnapped and freed by the terrorists involved in the Pathankot attack, will be confronted with his cook and caretaker of a shrine for greater clarity on incidents that preceded the assault on the air base.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) questioned questioned Singh for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday. The interrogators also quizzed his cook and the caretaker of 'Panj Peer Dargah', which Singh had claimed to have visited before he was kidnapped. 

Singh will be confronted with his cook Madan Gopal and caretaker of 'Panj Peer Dargah' Somraj on Friday, official sources said. The sources said bringing them face-to-face was necessary because of "conflicting statements" being made by the three.

While Singh had told the Punjab police he frequently visited the shrine, Somraj claimed he had seen him for the first time hours before terrorists launched the brazen attack on the Pathankot facility.

Singh had said he was kidnapped by the terrorists after his visit to the shrine and later let off as they did not know his identity. They said a final decision on whether to conduct a polygraph (lie detector) test on Singh or others will be taken after Friday's questioning.

A Home Ministry spokesperson said Singh and others were questioned at the NIA headqutares. While the police officer has been questioned for last four days, Gopal and Somraj, who are related to each other, came for recording their statements for the first time.

The NIA has also approached the Punjab Police asking them to share details of the terror strike at Dina Nagar in Gurdaspur district on July 27 last year after investigators of the central terror probe agency found similiarities with the attack on Pathankot air base.