Anti-terrorist force to deal with security threats in Haryana: CM
GURUGRAM : The Haryana government will set up an anti-terrorist force (ATF), called ‘Kavach’ (armour), to deal with new security challenges, announced chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, on Monday.
The force will be headquartered in Gurugram and comprise personnel from the state police department. They will be trained by the members of the National Security Guard(NSG) at their Manesar campus.
Khattar announced the setting up of the force, on Monday, in Gurugram while addressing the media after launching a Compact Disc (CD) titled ‘Vikas Geet’, highlighting the various achievements of the four years of his government in a sevenminute Haryanvi song.
The Kavach will be second special security force in Gurugram after the state government established the Special Task Force at Bhondsi in January this year.
Khattar lauded the STF for cracking down on organised crime and nabbing several members of various gangs active in the state.
Denying that there were any specific threat inputs to the state, Khattar said the force was being set up, keeping in mind the sensitive location and proximity of Gurugram and Faridabad to the national Capital.
A senior official of the district administration, however, said there were some recent intelligence inputs, which noted the movement of suspicious people was in Gurugram and the surrounding areas. This, the official said, probably spurred the need for the setting up of a special force.
“The force would have 150 police personnel. They will be given training for 14 weeks by the NSG. I have already spoken to the NSG in this regard. A special recruitment of Haryana police will be made in batches of 50 each. Members of Kavach may also be transferred to the Haryana police,” said Khattar.
“We want to be ready for any sort of eventuality. The force will deal with the security challenges in general that we face in the present day,” he said.
“Who could foretell the attacks in Pathankot and Mumbai? So, the need of the hour is to be always prepared,” he said.