Police still unclear on CM Bommai’s new commando unit
In a midnight press conference on July 27, Bommai had also announced the setting up new commando squad to deal with organised political killings in the state.
Even over a week after Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai announced the creation of a new commando unit in the state, the police are yet to get a clear guideline on what it will be about and what its role would be. While the decision to create a new unit is not facing criticism yet but concerns are being raised within the department about the increasing number of heavily armed, tactical units in a force that is meant to work with the people.
In a midnight press conference on July 27, Bommai had also announced the setting up new commando squad to deal with organised political killings in the state. The units will operate autonomous of other enforcement agencies in the state, and will be provided with special arms, ammunition and even training, Bommai had said.
However, a senior IPS officer who spoke to HT on the condition of anonymity pointed out that Karnataka already had the Centre for Counter-Terrorism in Bengaluru, which has a tactical unit (Gaurda) raised on the lines of National Security Guards (NSG). “They are our premier commando force. They are trained by army officers and have specialised equipment imported from abroad. Their weapons, tactics and training are as good as any commando unit in the country,” the officer said.
While Karnataka has such a tactical unit, Mangaluru and Bengaluru city police commissionerates have launched their SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics). Even these units have been provided specialised weapons.
“A normal policeman is armed with a .303 Lee Enfield rifle or a self-loading rifle. The number of weapons in a police station is limited too because civil police are meant to work with people and not behave like an army unit. But their commando and SWAT are provided newer, automatic weapons like rifles from the AK series or other modern weapons. They are heavily armed. If we are creating another commando with similar weapons, what are we trying to do? The government should think about it,” the officer added.
Raising these units comes at a higher cost as well. In an attempt to augment its arsenal, the Karnataka police have been ordering arms, including the latest varieties of automatic weapons, from abroad since 2016. Starting from 2016, a sum of ₹7 crore has been handed over to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the nodal agency for the purchase of arms.
These new weapons are meant to be distributed among specialized squads like the Garuda anti-terror unit and the anti-Naxal force. German Heckler & Koch MP5 submachines, Israeli-made corner shot pistols and imported sniper rifles are among the other additional orders made by state police previously. Indian-made INSAS and other rifles are also part of the arsenal procured by the state police.
While the government has ordered the creation of another armed, tactical unit, the nodal agency for the anti-terror investigations have been ignored for years. Even though Bengaluru has witnessed three major terror attacks since the IISc attack on December 28, 2005, one of the ATS units has a track record of not being part of any of the terror-related investigations.
At present Karnataka Police operates three anti-terror squads (ATS) which fall come under three departments within the police force — the Internal Security Division (ISD), State Intelligence Department (SID) and the Central Crime Branch (CCB). The third ATS unit under CCB was added last year.
The ATS which comes under the Internal Security Division has neither registered a single FIR nor has it investigated any terror case since its formation in 2009 following the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai. Similar units were raised by the Maharashtra and New Delhi Police as well.
“Like their counterparts, ATS had the mandate of being the state police’s nodal agency for all counter-terror operations in the state. However, unlike Mumbai and New Delhi, ATS was not given any powers to register FIRs and investigate terror-related cases in Karnataka,” an official requesting anonymity said.
Since the formation of the ATS under the Internal Security Division, Bengaluru witnessed three major terror strikes: the 2010 Chinnaswamy stadium blast, the 2013 BJP headquarters blast and the 2014 Church Street blast. Even though ATS was the nodal agency for counter-terrorism, all the three cases were investigated by the local police or Central Crime Branch.
Karnataka police chief, director general and inspector general of police (DG and IGP) Praveen Sood said that even though the state has three different ATS units their roles are well defined.
“Last year we started the ATS in the Bengaluru police since the city had witnessed multiple terror attacks in the past. This unit comes under the Central Crime Branch (CCB). For the other two agencies, their role is to provide intelligence and input. ATS (ISD) liaisons with NIA and IB (Intelligence Bureau),” said Sood.
Despite the police chief’s claim that the roles are well-defined, officers in the ISD’s ATS are still unclear about their role, as the intelligence on counter-terrorism is handled by state intelligence and investigations are handled by either CCB or local police.
