NSG commandos provide security to BJP leader LK Advani’s car. File picture

New Delhi, April 4: Last year, they competed with a “handicap” and lost; this year, they have chosen not to compete at all.

Eyebrows were raised when the National Security Guard, whose commandos gunned down terrorists during the November Mumbai attacks, opted out of a competition among paramilitary forces last month.

Competitors such as the BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP and the RPF have interpreted the decision as a lack of confidence to take on “lesser mortals” who claim they are as good, if not better, than the Black Cats.

Sources said the reason the NSG had given the organisers for not being able to participate was that “the standard weapons are different”.

Last year, they had gone into the marksmanship competition with their German-made MP5 rifles but the competition was with the INSAS and the Indian version of the AK-47.

“They were initially disqualified but then I spoke to A.K. Mitra, the BSF DG, and they participated with a handicap,” said Jyoti Krishan Dutt, a former director-general of the NSG.

That game was one of a three-part mock operation against terrorists, which also involved clearing an obstacle course by crawling on jagged terrain and using climbing ropes.

When the Black Cats cleared the hurdles and got to the firing round, where they had to use the Indian weapons and not the German rifles they are used to, their marksmanship fell wide of the mark.

This time, the NSG commandos have pointed to the difference in standard weapons and refused to participate. Many have now begun to question whether the Black Cats cannot fight with any other weapon but their own.

An NSG insider argued that the commandos were trained to fire all weapons but their favourite was the MP5. They could use sniper guns, telescopic rifles and pistols too, he said.

A former NSG officer said it was important for the commandos to compete with any given weapon. “They should pitch themselves against other commandos to know where they stand,” he said.

Former DG Dutt, however, maintained the NSG was the “best fighting machine” and had proved itself during the Mumbai attacks.

In this year’s competition, held at the BSF academy in Tekanpur, about 30km from Gwalior, the BSF topped for the second successive year. The CISF was the runner-up.

The winner scored 98.95 in the confidence course, 76 in the firing round and 43 in small team operations.

If the entire exercise is completed in less than 10 minutes, a team gets full marks. The events are a test of physical strength, nerves and the confidence of the commander who leads the team.