NEW DELHI: The national capital will get a special unit of highly-trained commandos equipped with state-of-the-art weapons to combat terror situations. According to senior officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs, 50 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, handpicked from Kashmir and worst-hit Naxal areas in Chhattisgarh, will be part of a new Quick Action Team (QAT) to deal with incidents of terror including handling improvised explosive devices (IEDs), suicide attacks and terror ambushes in Delhi and nearby areas.
The commandos, who have handled major operations in Kashmir and Naxal areas, have also been trained in operations in urban areas to particularly manage crowded places and emergency situations in high-rise buildings. As per sources, the team will be equipped with MP-5 submachine guns, sniper rifles, light machine guns, AK-47s, corner shot (a weapon accessory), under-barrel grenade launchers, night vision goggles, radars, in-wall scanners, and robots equipped with weapons.
Members of the elite team, which includes commandos, who have won Police Medal for Gallantry for eliminating terrorists and Naxals, will be deployed in two groups at strategic locations for Republic Day as a high alert has been sounded in Delhi ahead of January 26. “This unit will provide support if required to two CRPF wings responsible for Parliament security and protecting VVIPs like Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi and her family, and BJP President J P Nadda,” a senior government official said.
“This team has been deployed for CRPF in Delhi, which already has multiple agencies, but the team will work as per government order in case of any attack,” the official explained. CRPF’s Kashmir QAT unit gives additional support to the security setup which mainly comprises the Indian Army, J&K police, and the CRPF.