Nagpur: MAKING ITS debut at the ongoing Assembly winter session in Nagpur, the Maharashtra Police personnel, both men and women, were seen donning full body protector. The newly acquired full body suits that were so far used by paramilitary forces like the CRPF will now be used by the state police, especially during riots or mob control situations.
The state police recently received the first batch of 600 such suits. A total of Rs 1.67 crore has been allocated by the state government. “The cost of Full Body Protector one suit is Rs 15,680. So far, we have procured 600 suits and 450 suits will arrive shortly,” said a senior official from the Director General of Police’s office.
The main purpose of purchasing the suits is to prevent the police from overusing the force during a law and order situation. “In a riot-like situation or any major law and order breakdown, where mob is seen resorting to stone pelting or violence, we have seen the police retreat using lathis or charging at the mob, sometimes even leading to fatalities.
In many cases, we are blamed for using excess force. These suits would help us ensure that even if the crowd gets unruly, the gear protects the personnel from injuries caused during such breakdowns and restrain them from retaliating. It will ultimately prevent the police from overusing force,” the official added.
Director General of Police Satish Mathur said procurement is part of the police modernisation exercise. “The Full Body Protector suits will be donned by men and women from the RCP, SRPF and the local police while controlling a riot-like situation.
The first batch of suits has recently arrived and is already being used,” Mathur told The Indian Express. “The November 2008 attack exposed our vulnerabilities and asserted the need to better-equip ourselves. The weapons and heavy equipment procured, match the international standards and will be distributed amongst the specialised forces, who are the first responders in case of any law and order situation,” Mathur added.
Nine years after the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai that exposed poor-preparedness of the police so far, around Rs 250 crores have been spent by the state police to procure state-of-the art weapons and equipment.
The state government is also procuring robots and will take help of Artificial Intelligence. The police will heavily rely on Internet of Things (IoT) to secure the state.
The advanced equipment being purchased include bullet proof jackets, shields, endoscopes, thermal imaging reflex sights, assault rifles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) among others. The state police recently bought 4,600 bullet proof (BP) jackets that are now being tested at the Central Forensic Laboratory in Chandigarh to see if they can be used in combat operations. Once certified, they would be pressed into use. The police have also procured 1,500 bullet proof helmets.
Both the BP jackets and helmets have been bought from a Kanpur-based company, MKU Industries. The state police has recently floated a tender calling for bids related to bomb suits.
The DGP’s office that makes procurement on behalf of the state has ensured that fire power of the police force is not compromised. The office has placed an order for over 1,000 AK-47s, 500 MP5 and substantial numbers of corner shots – a weapon accessory that allows to shoot around the corner without exposing the operator to a counter attack. A corner shot has a camera and a video monitor to assist the shooter.
The advanced weapons would be used by specialised units, like the QRTs, Force One and the C-60 commandos in naxal-affected areas.
