Bhubaneswar: The elite Special Operation Group(SOG) Jawans have not only helped the State in various anti-Maoist operations, but also they have provided various training and skills to police personnel from other States.
DGP Abhay reviewed SOG related activities along with senior Top Cops of the State Police recently. IGP Operations Amitabh Thakur outlined details in this regard.
The SOG formed in the year 2004 to counter terrorist and extremist operations, has provided special training to 924 police officials from four States and also CRPF.
The SOG has also been imparting training to the police personnel of other states and CAPFs since it has acquired expertise in training and after having achieved results on the ground, an official said.
At least 202 police officials from West Bengal, 40 from Jharkhand (UBGL), 50 from Kerala, 32 from Maharashtra and 600 CRPF have got rigorous training from the SOG so far.
After getting good response from the first batch training, the Kerala Police has now sent another batch of 33 Commandos of “Thunderbolt”, which is their Special Force for tackling LWE in Kerala.
The batch will undergo intensive and rigorous training for 8 weeks. Main focus is given to the improvement of Physical fitness and skills in Firing in difficult jungle conditions, the official said.
The Commandos will also be given training on map reading, weapon handling and firing, field craft, tactics and other allied subjects like explosives, communication and first aid.
After the completion of training, each Commando will be able to march cross country from one unknown place to another anywhere on the globe, even at night. He will be a Marksman in firing and will be able to handle explosives confidently. He will also be able to remain in a Jungle without outside support for five days and march a distance of 100 km with his own arms and personal equipment.
Keeping the trainee hungry for an entire day or keeping him awake for the entire night are also inputs to prepare him for the arduous task and to keep him focused on the given task, the police official said.
The trainee, thus, will be prepared to stay in the jungle and effectively tackle the Maoists and can also beat them in guerilla warfare.
Amongst the mandate of SOG, one is also to develop training curriculum and train its own personnel and those of other units of the state police as well. It provides training to Odisha Police personnel in anti-terrorist and anti-extremist field craft, non conventional jungle warfare, storming of hide outs and defended centres of extremists/terrorists, storming of buildings, installations, aircrafts taken hostage by the terrorists and the like.