Mock drill checks Capital’s preparedness against terror

Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Chinmoy Biswal said this was the first time that the three agencies came together to check the preparedness and coordinate efforts in different scenarios.

Commandos of the Delhi Police, NSG and CISF held a joint mock drill on Saturday at different locations across the city to check the national capital’s anti-terror preparedness. Assisted by personnel of local police, special cell officers, fire department and Emergency Response Vehicle personnel, a simulated security scare situation was created which included terrorists taking people hostage at a government building, bomb explosion at a mall and hijacking of a Delhi Metro train.

Chinmoy Biswal, who is also the police’s spokesperson, said the first mock drill was conducted at the old police headquarters in ITO, central Delhi. (Photo by Arvind Yadav/ Hindustan Times) (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Chinmoy Biswal said this was the first time that the three agencies came together to check the preparedness and coordinate efforts in different scenarios.

Biswal, who is also the police’s spokesperson, said the first mock drill was conducted at the old police headquarters in ITO, central Delhi. The mock drill began with a vehicle reaching the exit gate of Old Police Headquarters at IP Estate, New Delhi, and, after a brief skirmish with the security, taking hostages at gunpoint inside a building while another group of terrorists fled in a getaway car.

“The special forces of SWAT, special cell and CISF (for the metro station) formed the inner cordon and anti-terror operations, as prescribed in the drills, were carried out. Hostage rescue, screening and securing of suspects in complex operations were simulated with coordination and cooperation of all responding actors,” said Biswal.

The second drill was held inside the Ambience mall in Vasant Kunj where officers checked the response after a dummy IED explosion within the mall complex, following which terrorists fired indiscriminately and tried to flee.

The third drill, involving the hijacking of a parked Delhi metro train, saw the CISF anti-hijacking team taking part in the response with police and NSG.

“As the capital city is opening up, and professional and recreational establishments are gradually returning to normal, a need was felt to test the anti-terror preparedness of the city, which has been a prime target for terrorist and anti-national elements. After many rounds of inter-agency communication and meetings, we decided to have the joint drill on Saturday,” Biswal said.

The NSG teams also stood by as “special observers” to check the preparedness and response of the anti-terror teams. “The response was found appropriate,” Biswal added.