National Security Guard

History

• 29–30 April 1986: About 300 NSG commandos and 700 Border Security Force troops stormed the Golden Temple in Operation Black Thunder I. The Temple was cleared and handed over to the Punjab Police on 1 May 1986. 300 Sikh militants were captured, and there were no deaths or injuries for either side.
• January 1988: The NSG conducted Op Black Hawk, a heliborne operation in the Mand area of Punjab. In this operation, two terrorists were killed, and one 7.62mm rifle was recovered. It was a massive operation, says former NSG Director-General Ved Marwah, though it did not get many spectacular results like in Black Thunder.
• 12 May 1988: 1,000 NSG commandos surrounded the Golden Temple for yet another assault, in Operation Black Thunder II. Sniper teams armed with Heckler & Koch PSG-1 rifles with night scopes took up positions, including atop a 300-foot water tower. While commandos from the 51 SAG were divided into assault squadrons, the SRG was used to seal off the area around the temple and for tactical support. In the three-day operation between 15 and 18 May 1988, the NSG cleared the temple. 40 terrorists were killed, and 200 surrendered. In the mid-1990s, an NSG battalion was again deployed in Punjab to confront the Sikh rioters. There, they began training the Punjab Police in counter-terrorism.
• 5 September – 15 January 1988: Guarding of high-risk terrorist code-named 'Jack'.
• 4 August 1989: Operation Mouse Trap in the Tarn Taran district, Punjab, in conjunction with Punjab Police and other security forces. NSG was able to demonstrate that it was possible to achieve area dominance at night if the strategy and tactics were right. Ved Marwah calls this Operation Night Dominance.
• 10 November 1990: NSG task force flew to Kolkata to rescue hostages of a Thai Airbus by Burmese students.
• 25–26 January 1991: The NSG was involved in Operation Ani Ben, on CI tasks in Baroda,, where Punjab terrorists were holed up inside a house. Two terrorists were killed, and two AK-47s were recovered.
• 1 July-20 September 1991: NSG employed along with SIT in search and strike missions after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
• 25 November – 16 December 1992: 150 commandos were deployed at Ayodhya during the Ram Janambhoomi and Babri Masjid crisis.
• 27 March 1993: 52 SAG mobilised and moved to Adampur for the rescue of hostages of Indian Airlines Flight IC 486.
• 24–25 April 1993: NSG Commandos stormed a hijacked Indian Airlines Boeing 737 with 141 passengers on board at Amritsar airport during Operation Ashwamedh. Two hijackers, including their leader, Mohammed Yousuf Shah, were killed, and one was disarmed before any hostages were harmed.
• October 1998: As part of the implementation of the Union Home Ministry's decision to conduct proactive strikes against militants, commando teams supported by IAF Mi-25/35 helicopter gunships began striking at terrorist groups deep inside the mountains and forests of Kashmir. After a helicopter reconnaissance was conducted to pinpoint the militants, the commandos – comprising NSG and Rashtriya Rifles personnel – were para-dropped, along with supplies, into the area to hunt the militants. They had to rely on these supplies and their ability to live off the land until replenishment every fortnight or so. These missions are possibly ongoing.
• 15 July 1999: NSG commandos ended a 30-hour standoff by killing two terrorists and rescuing all 12 hostages unharmed in J&K. The terrorists had attacked a BSF campus near Srinagar, and killed three officers and the wife of another. The 12 hostages were kept locked in a room.
• 21 August 1999: After interrogating three captured terrorists, the Delhi Police Crime Branch confirmed that two more terrorists were hiding in a one-storied house in Rudrapur, Uttar Pradesh. Since the terrorists were considered armed and dangerous, the Delhi Police sought assistance from the NSG. A 16-man team arrived at the house at 4:45 am. They began their assault at 5:30 am, before first light. The first militant managed to fire at the commandos with a pistol he kept by his bedside, but was killed an instant later. The second terrorist was shot before he had a chance to fire and died 40 minutes later. No NSG personnel were injured.
• December 1999: Terrorists hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC814 from Nepal, and landed in Amritsar, Punjab. Within minutes of landing, the Crisis Management Group, which authorised the use of the NSG, was informed. But the CMG wasted precious hours, and by the time the go-ahead was issued, it was too late. On the other hand, the NSG team on alert was elsewhere, and no other team was raised during the delay. The hijacked plane took off before the NSG reached Amritsar Airport. The plane landed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where one hostage was killed. Finally, the Indian Government agreed to the terrorists' demands to release three jailed terrorists. The hostages were released and the terrorists escaped to Pakistan.
• February 2000: Following the Flight IC 814 fiasco, the Indian Government decided to implement an Air Marshaling programme. At least two NSG operators were to be present on flights over select routes. These operators would be armed with weapons firing lethal, but low-velocity, fragmentation rounds to minimise danger to the passengers and prevent penetration of the aircraft. Another decision taken was to deploy NSG teams permanently at eight sensitive airports around the country, especially those bordering Pakistan and the North East. This decision was to cut short reaction times for the NSG and eliminate the hassles involved in flying the teams to the hijack site. It is not known if this plan has been put into action.
• September 2002 – SAG commandos flew to Karnataka to capture forest brigand and sandalwood smuggler Veerappan in the wake of the kidnapping of a former minister of the state cabinet, Nagappa. They pulled out after suggesting that the intelligence for the operation was inadequate. A small team was left behind to help; the hostage was eventually killed in December 2002.
• October 2002 – Two terrorists attacked the Akshardham temple complex in Gujarat. NSG flew in, delayed by traffic in Delhi. They carried out assaults in which one commando was killed and another one was seriously injured and died after 18 months in a coma. By morning, the terrorists were neutralised and the operation was completed successfully.
• December 2002 – Terrorists attacked the Raghunath temple in Jammu. NSG was ready to be flown out, but was called back at the last minute.
• 2008 Mumbai attacks – Operation Black Tornado and Operation Cyclone to flush out terrorists & rescue hostages after multiple attacks across Mumbai, India. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Havaldar Gajender Singh Bisht of the NSG's 51 Special Action Group were killed in action during the operations. Over 900 rooms were scanned, 8 terrorists killed, and over 600 hostages rescued during the operation.
• 2013 Hyderabad blasts – Deployed in Hyderabad after the bomb blasts.
• 2013 Bangalore Bomb Blast – NSG was deployed in Bangalore after the bomb blast took place in the city.
• 2013 Patna bombings – A team of the NSG, which was sent to Patna for post-blast analysis, said at least three more Improvised Explosive Devices were defused.
• 2016 Pathankot attack – An NSG team took part in the operation to neutralise terrorists, where Lt. Col. Niranjan lost his life defusing a grenade or IED booby-trapped on the body of a dead terrorist, and 12 other members of the unit were injured. Six terrorists were neutralised in the operation by the NSG, Defence Security Corps and the Garud Commando Force
• May 2023 – A team of NSG Commandos was deployed in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir along with a team of MARCOS Commandos to provide security to the G20 delegates during the 3rd G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar during May 22–24.

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