Maharashtra police to get bulletproof jackets only after 3-4 months

The delay is owing to the police returning the jackets to the Kanpur-based manufacturer, after 1,430 of 4,600 bulletproof vests failed the AK-47 bullet test during trials.

Nearly a decade after the 26/11 terror attacks showed how the police force was vulnerable without proper bulletproof vests, the Maharashtra police still do not have the required number of such jackets. According to sources, it will take at least three more months before the bulletproof jackets are with the force.

The 26/11 terror attacks showed how the police force was vulnerable without proper bulletproof vests (HT file)

The delay is owing to the police returning the jackets to the Kanpur-based manufacturer, after 1,430 of 4,600 bulletproof vests – received by the Maharashtra Police in the aftermath of the 2008 attacks – failed the AK-47 bullet test during trials.

“We had written a letter to the company to give us a commitment letter about the time they are going to take to deliver the bulletproof jackets, which will be used by Force One and Quick Reaction Team personnel during an hour of need. We have been told that the company’s factory in Kanpur was gutted by fire,” said a senior official from the Maharashtra police.

The company, said sources, will be getting the jackets manufactured at Malwa in Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh, and so it will take three to four more months.

“We want to provide the jackets to our force as soon as possible but we cannot compromise on quality. We have not paid a single penny till now,” said the senior officer.

A controversy had erupted on the quality of bulletproof jackets after ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who was wearing one such vest, was killed during the 2008 terror attacks.