Anti-hijacking squad for State in 6 months

The official said the necessity of a special squad was felt in view of the large number of airports in the state and inability of the department to tackle eventualities on its own. “We have Chhatrapati Shivaji domestic as well as international airports. In addition, we have Aurangabad, Nagpur and Pune airports, but the existing manpower to tackle emergency is not sufficient. Hence, it was felt that an independent squad should be set up for the purpose,” the official added.

A group of 100 persons, all below the age of 30 will be selected from the existing police force and deployed for special training at the National Security Guards. “Within six months, our squad will be ready to meet any situation. Since it will be based in Mumbai, its mobility will be easy,” the official added.

In addition, there is a proposal to set up one company of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) in each district to deal with natural disasters and calamities. “At the moment, the relief work is carried out by the employees of the revenue department. Since, they are untrained for the work, the relief operation is adversely affected or delayed. Under such circumstances, if we set up one company for each district, it will be helpful for the administration,” the official pointed out.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal reviewed the security arrangements at the major airports in the state. Besides the officials of the home department, the high level meeting was attended by Director General of Police Arvind Inamdar.