UP ATS to set up commando units at Deoband, 4 other places

Decision comes after the arrest of two suspected al-Qaeda operatives in Lucknow on July 11, 13 and the arrest of eight terror suspects and ISI agents from Saharanpur recently

LUCKNOW The UP government has decided to set up new training and operational centres for Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) commandos in Saharanpur’s Deoband – known for its Islamic seminary Darul Uloom, and four other places in UP. The government has allotted 2,000 sq m land for the purpose, said Prashant Kumar, ADG (law and order), here on Tuesday.

Members of Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) stand guard outside a house in Lucknow on July 11, 2021 (AFP Photo)

The decision comes after the arrest of two suspected al-Qaeda operatives in Lucknow on July 11, 13 and the arrest of eight terror suspects and ISI agents from Saharanpur recently.

The ADG said Deoband is strategically important for the UP Police as it is located on the border of Uttarakhand and Haryana. The commando training centres will be set up where the state government provides land while at other places a trained commando unit will be deployed for operational purpose.

The other strategic places where the commando operational centres will be set up include Jewar (Gautam Buddh Nagar), where new international airport is coming up and Meerut district in west UP. Similar centres will come up in Bahraich and Shravasti districts on the Indian-Nepal border.

“Setting up these training centres and units will help carry out effective anti-terror operations in UP,” he said.

Another senior official said over 20 police officers will be instantly posted in Deoband to carry out operational activities till the commando training centre is raised there.

Earlier in the day, Shalabh Mani Tripathi, media advisor to the chief minister, in a tweet, said: “Work to raise the ATS commando training centre in Deoband is already started on a war footing.”