Delhi Police is poised to become the first police force in India to have an all-women SWAT team that will be formally inducted on Friday. The women constables, 36 in total, are all from various parts of the Northeastern states.
The women have gone through a rigorous 15-month training. “These women are second to none when it comes to handling terror strikes and hostage crisis in urban areas. In fact, they were rated better than their male counterparts by their trainers at Police Training College in Jharoda Kalan,” police commissioner Amulya Patnaik, who spearheaded the programme told The Times of India.
All Women SWAT Commando unit is expert in unarmed combat, ambush & counter ambush, urban operations with knowledge of explosives, IEDs and assault weapons. #PowerToHer #SafeDelhi pic.twitter.com/ce32RiUvJw
— Delhi Police (@DelhiPolice) August 10, 2018
There are 13 members from Assam, five each from Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Manipur. They are trained in Israeli Krav Maga, a combat style, and equipped with MP5 submachine guns and Glock 21 pistols. The team will be positioned at strategic locations and are also trained to climb buildings and conduct rescue operations.
According to The Hindu, 130 women from the Northeast were initially shortlisted and travelled all the way to Delhi to receive further training. Following their 10-month course, the team was asked whether they would like to join the advanced commando course. Of the 130, 40 were willing to take on the gruelling training.
In order to combat the language barrier, an instructor from the Northeast has been made part of the training team. The concept of an all-women SWAT team was developed when 41 newly-inducted female security personnel completed a four-month commando training.
