Just 2 hostage negotiators,and a 3rd training in London

The police had sent her for the March 12-May 3 course barely a week before the D N Nagar police combat team found themselves at pains to reason with Harish Marolia and rescue teenager Hemini Mehta.

Sharma,who is also the Mumbai Police’s liaison officer for any communication with Interpol,applied for an ambassadorial scholarship for training as a hostage negotiation specialist. On March 2,the state home department sanctioned it.

JCP (Traffic) Sanjay Barve and IGP (State Intelligence) K L Prasad are the other two trained for such situations. They had been sent by the state police to the US for training in 2002.

“The problem is that once an incident like the hostage crisis in Andheri takes place,the police cannot waste time locating IPS officers like Barve and Prasad and waiting for them to reach the spot. It is a good move that junior officers are also being sent for hostage negotiation training. Ultimately,ground level officers at police stations should receive some sort of training in such skills,” said a top state police officer.

Sharma’s training module is being organised by the Rotary Foundation. Hendon Police College,commonly referred to as Peel Centre,is the principal training centre for London’s Metropolitan Police Service.

The centre runs courses on many aspects of police work,from forensic and crime scene analysis,to radio operations and driving skills. London Police officers return to the centre at various stages during their career to hone their skills.