Maharashtra plans a new anti - terror team

After NSG and Force-1, the Maharashtra government is creating a new team of police personnel to tackle 26/11-like terror incidents. A team of 1,000 policemen divided into two teams (500 each in the island city and the suburbs) will be entrusted with the task of helping the NSG and Force-1 teams. State home minister Jayant Patil said, “This team, known as the Response Team, will handle the operations against terrorists if the NSG and Force-1 are delayed a bit.’’ The men would engage the terrorists till the two specialised forces arrived, he added. But the Response Team’s work will not end with the arrival of the NSG or Force-1. This team will then be entrusted with the job of sanitising and cordoning off the terror-hit area. Their job would be to see that none of the terrorists escape and prevent deterioration of the law-and-order situation in the zone, a home department official stated. This is the latest in a series of attempts by the state to make its police force more potent. In another ambitious plan to transform the system of beat marshals, Patil has urged a city-based car designer to modify a patrolling bike to make it more up-to-date. “The designer has accepted the proposal. You will soon find constables moving around in fast bikes with the latest wireless equipment and weapons,’’ the minister added.