51 Special Action Group

The 51 Special Action Group is a special response unit of the National Security Guards (NSG) of India. It was raised by the Cabinet Secretariat under the National Security Guard Act of 1985.[1]

51 Special Action Group
51 SAG
Common nameTop Men Team
MottoSahas Ki Vijay
Bravery Wins
Agency overview
Formed1985, 15 December
EmployeesThe officers and troops come from various units of Army, trained in various commando courses.
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agencyIndia
Operations jurisdictionIndia
Governing bodyMinistry of Home Affairs (India)
Constituting instrument
  • National Security Guard Act, 1985
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersNew Delhi, India
Agency executive
Parent agencyNational Security Guard
Notables
Significant operations

The Special Action Group (SAG) comprises 54% of the National Security Guards. The 51 SAG forms the offensive arm, with personnel drawn from the Indian Army. The 51 SAG is tasked with counter-terrorism operations, while the 52 SAG is trained and equipped for counter-hijack operations.[2]

Mission

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51 Special Action Group's mission is part of the NSG's overall mission to neutralize specific terrorist threats in vital installations or any given area, handle hijack situations involving piracy in the air and on the land, engage and neutralize terrorists in specific situations, and to rescue hostages in kidnap situations.

Composition

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The unit is the smallest combat unit in the SAG counter-terrorist operations, and is called a hit. It has five members: two pairs, or partners and a technical support member. Four hits make a team which is under the command of a captain/team commander. The number of hits used for an intervention job depends on its complexity and the magnitude of the operation.

Recently, operational hubs have been raised in Metro cities: Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Gandhinagar, apart from its headquarters at Manesar (Haryana), near the capital New Delhi.[3]

Equipment

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Operations carried out

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Though it is not possible to narrate all the operations carried out by NSG but the summary of important surgical operations carried out by NSG (51 SAG) are given below:

  • Operation Cactus – Commandos were mobilized for the 1988 Maldives coup d'état operations in Male, Maldives.[4][5]
  • Operation Mouse Trap – Commandos were deployed in District Taran Taaran (Punjab). More than 25 militants were killed and a large number of weapons & ammunition were recovered.[6]
  • Operation Agni Baan – Punjab terrorists were holed up inside a house in Baroda. 2 terrorists were killed and their weapons recovered.
  • Operation Ghost Buster – 51 SAG was deployed with SIT for search and strike missions after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
  • Operation Sudarshan – 51 SAG was deployed at Ayodhya during Demolition of the Babri Masjid
  • Operation Winter Storm – 51 SAG along with supporting elements were moved on 27 Oct 93 to Srinagar to flush out militants from Hazratbal Shrine. Operations were called off after a prolonged siege of almost a month though the final preparations for assault had been made.
  • Operation Vajrashakti in Akshardham Temple – 51 SAG was flown to rescue hostages held by terrorist in Akshardham Temple Gandhinagar. This was the first operation in which two commandos of 51 SAG attained martyrdom. All the militants were killed with no casualties to hostages & damage to the temple.[7]
  • Operation Trident, Black Tornado and Cyclone – Recently held operations to flush out the terrorists and rescue hostages post multiple attacks across Mumbai. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan & Havaldar Gajender Singh made their supreme sacrifice while combating the terrorists.[8][9]
  • Operation Dhangu – The Army justified the deployment of 51 SAG (NSG) in the operation against the six terrorists at the Pathankot airbase, saying that the three service chiefs had taken the call jointly so that the elite combat force could deal with any hostage crisis in the airbase which had around 3,000 family members of IAF personnel and 23 trainees from four foreign countries at the time of the attack. Commander of the Army's Western Command Lt Gen K J Singh said the 51 SAG (NSG) was deployed as it is a force specially trained to deal with a hostage crisis. Apart from family members, 23 trainees from Afghanistan, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Myanmar were at the airbase when terrorists struck. Singh said the strategic forward airbase of the IAF at Pathankot remained fully functional all through the 'Operation Dhangu', the codename given to the mission to eliminate the terrorists. On 3 January, when two terrorists had entered the barracks inside the airbase, six IAF personnel were stuck on the first floor of the building, Lt Gen Singh said. The commandos rappelled down to the building roof, broke the window on the first floor and evacuated IAF men. Thereafter the building was demolished with the help of IEDs to neutralise the terrorists.[10][11]

References

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  1. ^ "Army Chief honours 51 special action group of the national security guards". The Times of India. 24 August 2020. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  2. ^ Sabarwal, Harshit (24 August 2020). "Army Chief honours 51 SAG of the National Security Guard". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Gujarat gets new NSG hub; fifth in the country". The Economic Times. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  4. ^ Sibal, Sidhant (2 November 2020). "Operation Cactus: How India helped the Maldives in November, 1988". Wion. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Maldives grateful to India for being a 'true friend': Abdulla Shahid remembers Operation Cactus". The Times of India. 3 November 2020. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  6. ^ Mohan, Vijay (7 February 2006). "Surprise was key element of Operation Mouse Trap". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 14 February 2006. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  7. ^ "2002 Akshardham temple attack accused Yasin Butt arrested from Jammu & Kashmir by Gujarat ATS". Times Now News. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Operation Black Tornado: How NSG commandoes ended the siege of Mumbai". Times Now News. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  9. ^ Krishnan, Raghu (25 November 2020). "Let us remember not just the horror of 26/11 but the heroes". Economic Times Blog. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  10. ^ "How NSG commandos neutralized the terrorists at Pathankot Air Force base". The Times of India. 5 January 2016. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  11. ^ Sura, Ajay (7 January 2016). "Pathankot attack: How 'Operation Dhangu' was won". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2021.