After a wait of five years, the Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations (Octopus) got its own headquarters at Begumpet here on Monday. Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy inaugurated the new two-storeyed HQ. Octopus used to operate out of the Greyhounds facility until now.
The new building was constructed at a cost of ` 5 crore by the AP State Police Housing Corporation and has a state-of-the art conference hall.
After inauguration, Octopus commandos demonstrated their skills in crisis intervention, rescue of hostages and an Israeli combat technique known as Karv Maga in the presence of the chief minister and other officials.
DGP V Dinesh Reddy had laid the foundation for the headquarters on January 8, 2012.
Raised after the Hyderabad serial bomb blasts in 2007, Octopus is mandated to undertake reconnaissance, assault and bomb disposal operations.
The key wings of Octopus are the Intelligence & Analysis Wing, for gathering intelligence from the sub-division, district and city levels; the Technical Intelligence Wing for monitoring communications, forensic and cyber-related activities; and the Research and Analysis Wing for interpreting data and inter-agency coordination and planning.
Presently, 100 Octopus commandos are deployed at the Tirupathi Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD).