VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh police department has achieved another feat at the national level with its elite anti-terrorist force ‘OCTOPUS’ (Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations) securing the top place in the seventh All-India Joint Exercise in Anti-Terrorist Operations organised by the National Security Guard (NSG) held at Manesar in Haryana.
The NSG conducted various competitions under the name ‘Agni Pariksha-7’, which includes counter-terrorism operation challenges, firing with different weapons, marathon running, fitness competitions and others.
A total of 18-members of various ranks had gone to Manesar NSG base in September and observed two weeks of quarantine. “The competition was held for two weeks and the results were declared on Friday. For the first time, Andhra Pradesh police won the overall championship by scoring more marks than the NSG and other elite special forces,” a press release from the DGP office reads.
On the other hand, head constable of Octopus A Papa Rao was awarded the best all-rounder in the competition. The elite counter terrorism organisation was established on October 1, 2007, in the then unified Andhra Pradesh and after bifurcation each state maintains the force individually. DGP Gautam Sawang congratulated the OCTOPUS team and said the commandos are trained in such a way that they can handle any kind of situation related to counter terrorism operations and others.