All state police to have anti-terror commando units
All state police to have anti-terror commando units
Your neighbourhood market is set to become safer. If a plan proposed by the Centre becomes successful, crowded markets in states will be secured by local commando units.
The Centre is planning to overhaul the country's policing system, with emphasis on modernising the state police departments to fight terrorism. State police headquarters will now have elite commando forces and will be linked to each other for real-time intelligence sharing.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) will be holding a day-long meeting on January 6 with representatives of all state governments to upgrade the country's security scenario. State governments have been asked to come with a detailed analysis of their security system. "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to chair the meeting. State governments will present their requirement so that steps can be taken to improve it," said a Ministry of Home Affairs' official, on condition of anonymity.
The meeting will discuss proposals like developing a commando force to safeguard potential targets like crowded places, temples and tourist destinations. "We need a force on the lines of the Quick Reaction Team. State governments have also been asked to increase the number of police control rooms in their jurisdiction," said the officer.
Intelligence sharing
It is also proposed to depute intelligence officials to the police headquarters of each state to increase coordination among them. "Suddenly, every one is harping about improving the coordination between the central intelligence agencies and the state police. It will help in information sharing and save a lot of precious time in case of a terror attack," said a senior intelligence officer in Delhi, wishing not to be named.
Sources in the Minister of Home Affairs (MHA) also said that the Centre has agreed to share the cost of modernising the police. "States will be providing the manpower while the Centre has agreed to share the bill," said a senior home ministry official from Rajasthan.
What states want
Rajasthan, which saw some of the deadliest serial blasts in the country, is planning to double the number of control rooms. "There will be 43 police control rooms in the state and these will be equipped with the latest technology to take care of any situation. We are also planning to train special commandos to deal with a Mumbai-like situation," said a senior Rajasthan government official.
Gujarat, on the other hand, is looking forward to better intelligence sharing with central intelligence agencies.
"We can control all situations provided we have better intelligence. Our own intelligence set-up is working quite well but we need to merge that with the central agencies," said a Gujarat government officer from Gandhinagar.
Meanwhile, there is also a plan to set up an independent police communication network in the country, which will connect all the state police departments through a dedicated frequency by using POLNET. POLNET is a satellite-based integrated network that was developed for the modernisation of police communication. The facility is presently being used by para-military forces to communicate between units and headquarters. "POLNET can extend its services to state police departments also. It will be like a wireless system with a dedicated frequency which can be accessed by all state police departments," said a senior officer from the Department of Directorate of Coordination of Police Wireless (DCPW).
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