The Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team set up in the district is fully geared up to meet any security threat, Prakasam Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kaushal said.
Leading a strenous training session at the firing range in Chimakurthy on Friday, Mr. Kaushal said the team, modelled along the lines of the National Security Guards (NSG) and the Organisation for Counter-Terrorist Operations (OCTOPUS), had been raised, trained, and deployed entirely within the district for urban warfare and high-risk operations.
Mr. Kaushal said the SWAT team is the first of its kind to be set up anywhere in the country, and thanked Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and Director General of Police Gautam D. Sawang for their support to the initiative.
“New fighting tactics and strategies have been introduced to keep the elite force in fine fettle,” he said after assessing their preparedness to face heightened security threats, including insurgency, and ability to discharge their duties in challenging times.
“In recent times, the State has seen increased communal tensions and we need to be fully alert to meet any exigencies,” the SP said, referring to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) nabbing suspected ISIS members in neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and the alleged masterminds of the serial bomb blasts in Hyderabad.
In view of emerging issues, the Special Branch-II and Intelligence had been strengthened to carry out anti-sabotage operations under SWAT in-charge B. Srikanth Naik.
“The elite force is fully equipped to handle any hijack episode, attacks on religious structures, and bomb attacks,” he said after testing the capability of SWAT commandos in advanced firing techniques.
The SWAT team has taken special training in room intervention, counter-ambush and disaster response management. The commandos trained in self-defence techniques at Krav Maga, a world-class martial art school in Hyderabad, and won appreciation from the top police brass in Telangana.
