City to get its own commando force

Taking cue from a similarly-named force in Mumbai, the city will soon get its very own elite commando force

Taking cue from a similarly-named force in Mumbai, the city will soon get its very own elite commando force

Nearly two years after the Mumbai terror attacks, the city is all set to get its own elite commando force to tackle such situations effectively. Christened Force One, a team of 200 members within the city police has been speciallyu00a0 trained to tackle terror situations in the city.

The force has been trained by the National Security Guard and other agencies. It is at par with Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and the Quick Reaction Team (QRT) from the US, and is equipped to handle any kind of situation.

Explaining the working of the soon-to-be-introduced force, Commissioner of Police Shankar Bidari said, "The reason its being called Force One is because it will be the first to reach the spot.

Ready, Aim! Members of the squad during a training session

Reaching the scene immediately and taking position would save time for other forces such as the army and police."

There is no other work for this team but to undergo rigorous training every day to prepare them physically and mentally for any given situation. "Their training is so hard, that the real task would look easy. This is one of the reasons why we have restricted the age group from 25 to 30," Bidari added.

Armed to the teeth
The force has been trained in armed and unarmed combat, communication, bomb defusal, and survival techniques.

The force will be revived every five years to bring young recruits and relieve the troops who cross the age barrier.

"The team will be equipped with sophisticated weapons, and the city police have already purchased three bullet proof troop carriers to ferry the force," a senior police officer who is in charge of the operations said.

u00a0"We wanted to make this force as a model force and would equip them with the best and modern gadgets," the officer added.

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The Namesake

In the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, the Maharashtra government decided to form a new, specialised force to tackle terror.

It was commissioned on November 24, 2009, and named Force One. Out of 3,000 applications from the state police force who volunteered to be partu00a0u00a0-- many of whom were part of 26/11 response teamu00a0-- 261 personnel were selected and trained in Pune, apart from the College of Military Engineering and the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Force One takes barely 15 minutes to get ready and respond to a terror strike.