Mock drill in city tests police preparedness

The first response from the police came within five minutes when a quick reaction team (QRT) with 10 well-equipped commandoes reached the spot and cordoned off the building. The SDPO (East) and the Sector-26 station house officer reached soon. The QRTs from Mohali,Panchkula,CRPF and ITBP too rushed after the control room informed them about the attack.

Senior Superintendent of Police S S Srivastava said the objective was to assess the strength and weaknesses of the police. The entire episode was videographed and photographed. “We will ponder over the episode in a day or two and try to plug the loopholes surfaced during the drill. On the whole,the drill proved successful,” he added.

The SSP said the QRTs were taught how to get leads from arrested terrorists by interrogating them as quickly as possible. “There were a few lines written on the walls in Urdu. The teams were able to decipher them. We used stun grenades,crackers and fake gunshots in the operation. We captured one terrorist alive and killed four,” he said. Fire,medical and other essential services too were put on alert. The health department and fire services took part in the drill.

The drill
Five men carrying ammunition and AK-47 assault rifles barged into the RTC and held 35 people hostage. The QRT reached and arrested the first terrorist within minutes and interrogated him to get leads about the others holed up in the building. It launched an attack and forced them to move into two rooms. After a gunbattle,the commandoes forced the remaining four terrorists to surrender and release the hostages. Eight hostages,including three women,were made to act like they had sustained injuries and immediately rushed to hospital. No policeman sustained injuries.

Emergency siren?
Most people did not respond to the emergency siren. According to the police,whenever a siren goes people should try and go to a safer place. “People should not panic and try to stay clam. We chose the day because most of offices were closed due to Good Friday. We will make people aware about the siren in the coming days,” said an officer.