Behind the scenes: Control room officers who saved lives during Powai siege

During Tuesdayrsquos hightension Powai hostage crisis where Rohit Arya allegedly held 16 children and a senior citizen captive the spotlight was firmly on the officers on the ground But behind the scenes it was the Western Region Control Room that worked tirelessly to keep communication steady coordination seamless and command decisions clearHow coordination unfoldedDuring the Powai standoff all field communication was routed through the West Region Control Room which maintained constant contact with the onground field coordinatorldquoThe control roomrsquos primary role is to assess the gravity of a situation and alert senior officers immediatelyrdquo said a police officer Once informed officers from across the chain of command from zonal DCPs to additional commissioners arrive at the spot to take charge of the operationIn this case Zone X DCP Datta Nalawade led the onsite operation staying in direct communication with the additional commissioner of police assistant commissioners and the commissioner of police throughoutCommand amp communicationldquoThe control room doesnrsquot give tactical orders at the scene its role is coordination and logisticsrdquo explained another officer ldquoIf the onsite commander requests backup extra patrol cars traffic control QRT quick response team units or a dog squad itrsquos the control room that ensures those resources reach instantlyrdquo During the Powai crisis the control room also managed traffic diversions deployed reserve teams and provided realtime updates to senior officials monitoring the situationMumbairsquos control networkThe Mumbai Police operates through a multilayered control room system The main control room housed at the commissionerrsquos office runs 247 in three shifts with about 50 personnel handling distress calls at any given time Each of the cityrsquos five regions mdash South Central West North and East mdash has its own control room headed by an ACP These regional units bridge coordination between police stations and field teams operating under their respective ACP to always ensure seamless communication Depending on the regionrsquos workload 10 to 20 trained staffers handle calls maintain radio links and mobilise resources across their jurisdictionsAlways on alertEvery emergency in Mumbai mdash from crime to fires riots or floods mdash first gets logged through the control room the cityrsquos true communication lifeline ldquoOur responsibility is simple but critical the right officer must get the right information at the right timerdquo an officer stationed at the control room told this newspaper