Delhi Police new recruits get training in ‘urban intervention’ to combat hostage situation

In the event of a hostage situation in Delhi, the city police no longer need to wait for the arrival of NSG or SWAT commandos, thanks to a new specialised commando training programme for their personnel.

As part of the ‘Urban Intervention’ initiative, the first batch of 25 police personnel underwent two weeks of intensive training at the National Security Guard (NSG) facility in Manesar, focusing on managing hostage scenarios.

The Delhi Police plan to initially train 300 commandos in the coming days, with additional personnel to be trained later.

Special Commissioner of Police (Training and SPUWAC), Chhaya Sharma, explained, “Every batch of new recruits undergoes a month of training at Jharoda Kalan and three months of advanced commando training in Abhanpur, Alwar, Rajasthan, which includes firing practice. This time, we incorporated urban intervention techniques into the training.”

Sharma emphasised the significance of urban intervention training for a metro city like Delhi. “If an intervention is required in an urban setting, our force needs to be prepared. To achieve this, we collaborated with the NSG, and the training has been very effective,” she said.

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The personnel are trained to handle real-life hostage situations through simulations of actual incidents and are briefed extensively on their roles and responsibilities.

“In urban interventions, the focus is on containment and minimizing damage. Initially, these trained personnel will join the Delhi Police Special Cell. As their numbers grow, they will be deployed across districts and stationed at critical locations like malls, VVIP events, and other law-and-order situations,” Sharma added.

Constable Ashish Malik, one of the 25 participants in the training programme, shared his experience: “After being inducted into the Delhi Police in 2023 and completing a three-month advanced commando course, we underwent a two-week capsule course on ‘Urban Intervention.’ This training prepares us to be the first responders during emergencies until external forces arrive.”

The personnel received shooting training using CMG (Carbon Machine Gun), JVPC (Joint Venture Protective Carbine), MP5 submachine guns, and Glock 17 pistols.

Constable Rahul Kumar Mishra highlighted the comprehensive nature of the training: “The NSG refers to it as the city capsule, but we call it urban intervention. We learned techniques for interventions in buses, metros, trains, buildings, and rooms – the latter being the ‘kill hut’ technique as described by the NSG.”

Another trainee, Dinesh, noted, “We are trained to handle two to three individuals without a weapon.”

Constable Manoj Kodan added, “We also learned techniques for dealing with tear gas, which was heavily used by terrorists during the 26/11 attack at the Taj Hotel.”

The Delhi Police have announced that the second batch of 50 constables will begin their ‘Urban Intervention’ training in February next year.

(With inputs from PTI)