The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Brunei Sultan visits Parachute Regiment

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Saturday, May 24, 2008
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Karnataka

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Brunei Sultan visits Parachute Regiment

Staff Reporter

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

THE ROYAL TOUCH: Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Haji Hassanal Bolkiah at the Parachute Regiment Training Centre in Bangalore on Friday.

BANGALORE: Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam and the world’s richest royal, had no airs about his visit to the Parachute Regiment Training Centre on Friday.

He came to the centre, had a feel of the training and even tried a hand in precise shooting before rounding off his one-hour visit.

Mr. Bolkiah, a qualified pilot himself, spent time at this premier institution of the Indian Army, which is involved in training recruits and giving basic skills for personnel joining the Parachute Regiment. This regiment — comprising parachute and parachute special forces battalions — had earned accolades for various conventional wars. It is involved in the ongoing counter insurgency terrorist organisations in Jammu and Kashmir and in North East.

Unlike his royal attire, Mr. Bolkiah came to the Centre in combat dress. Just after his arrival at 10.30 a.m., the Sultan came to the ground in an open jeep.

He was accompanied by the officiating commandant of the Centre, Colonel S.S. Sangwan, officials from Brunei and Indian Army and External Affairs personnel from India and Brunei. Before coming to the ground, Mr. Bolkiah had a glimpse of weapons and equipment used by the regiment and heard about several of its feats, including the record breaking 60-day para-motor expedition between Kashmir and Kanyakumari in 2005.

The demonstrations at the ground began with two indigenous advanced light helicopters performing slithering operation. This was followed by “site” operation that showed the way troops were lifted and dropped. The ways in which helicopters sanitise the landing spots and extricate troops from enemy area was shown.

The Brunei Sultan then went to the newly opened precision shooting range where the personnel were trained in handling various types of pistols. It was here that the Sultan tried his hand with Airpistol Gehmann, which had been recently purchased by the Regiment.

Then Captain P.P. Varma gave a presentation of the training in counter insurgency operations, which the Regiment was doing in Jammu and Kashmir. The recruits gave the demonstration by using replicas of the houses in which the terrorists usually stayed in the hilly areas. The troops showed combat shooting and firing from different ranges used for neutralising enemies.

Mr. Bokkiah ended his visit apparently pleased with the demonstration. He just smiled when reporters sought to know about his visit to the training centre. The Brunei Sultan went away in his convoy for a busy itinerary scheduled for the day.

Calls on Governor

The Sultan called on Governor Rameshwar Thakur at Raj Bhavan here on Friday.

According to a Raj Bhavan release, the two discussed topics of national concern and mutual interest.

Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Cyriac Joseph, Advisors to Governor P.K.H. Tharakan and S.Krishnakumar, Chief Secretary Sudhakar Rao, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Board Meenakshi Sundaram, Additional Chief Secretary Vatsala Watsa, Director-General and Inspector-General of Police R. Srikumar were present.

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