KOCHI:Waking up to the grim reality of the changing threat perception following mounting insurgency and growing fundamentalism, the Kerala Police are readying for a comprehensive training programme to familiarise personnel on the threat posed by Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). As part of it, a first-of-its-kind IED Park will be set up at the Kerala Police Academy (KPA) in Thrissur.
The IED Park will have all the state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities to provide police personnel with extensive training in IEDs on the lines of the Army and other elite security forces in the country.Kerala Police Academy DIG (Training) Anup Kuruvilla John said the IED Park being set up at the academy will be the first in the state to have all the required facilities to provide extensive training to police in IEDs.
“We already have training modules on IEDs. But through the IED Park, we want to ensure each policeman has the requisite proficiency in identifying an IED and defusing it,” he said adding all major police forces in the country have IED Parks and the one at KPA will be designed keeping in mind the kind of threat perception the state faces from insurgents and terrorists.
Retired Army Colonel N Arvind Kumar, who is an expert in IEDs, said the IEDs pose a major threat as it’s the major tool used by insurgents and extremists to strike clandestinely. “Nowadays, the anti-national elements are equipped to make IEDs using even mobile phones. To counter their activities, the security forces need to equip themselves to identify the IEDs and defuse them. One needs to have the professional skill to handle the IEDs and the IED Park is the right platform to provide training in this regard,” he said. According to officers, IED parks are excellent training aids for all levels of counter IED training which train the personnel to identify and defuse the IEDs.
An analysis of the extremist and insurgency activities in the state revealed all the terrorist-related blasts reported in the state were done using IEDs. “Right from the Kozhikode twin blasts case to the Ernakulam Collectorate blast and Malappuram Collectorate blast, anti-national elements had used IEDs,” the officers said.