Admitting that there were lapses during the anti-terror mock drill in Surat city last month where an inspector was shot at, Director General of Police (DGP) SS Khandwawala on Monday said that the incident was 'purely an accident'.
Shabbirali Sayyed, an inspector with the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) was shot in the abdomen on February 24 by Surat deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Subhash Trivedi, during a mock drill.The drill was conducted to increase the preparedness of district police officials in case of terror attack. "After reports that Saiyed was shot deliberately by Trivedi surfaced, we visited Saiyed's house on Monday accompanied by senior officials.
Saiyed clarified that it was not a deliberate attempt on the part of Trivedi and said it was just an accident," said Khanwawala.
The DGP said that normally during mock drills, police officers are asked not to use live ammunition. "For this drill too similar instructions were given but it could be possible that Trivedi may have forgotten to remove cartridges from his revolver," said Khandwawala. "This surely was a lapse and the matter is being investigated by two separate teams. One is headed by the Surat police commissioner Shivanand Jha, while the other is under the supervision of ATS chief Ajay Tomar," he added.
A ballistic expert is also involved in the investigation, Khandwawala said. "We are waiting for the inquiry report from the two teams and based on that appropriate action will be taken," the DGP said.
Khandwawala said that he saw the footage of the incident, which was video recorded, and it appeared that Sayyed who was posing as a terrorist was shot when he was being overpowered by Trivedi who was in the garb of a doctor.
Khandwawala also said that Saiyed had told him that he was disturbed over media reports which quoted him as saying that he was deliberately shot by Trivedi.
"He was so disturbed that he was contemplating to resign from the force," Khandwawala said. The DGP also urged the media to restrain itself while reporting such incidents and verify the facts before writing them. Describing how a mock drill is conducted, Khandwawala said that during these drills ATS officials pose as terrorists and observe how the district police act in case of terror attack.
"Such drills are carried out see if the district police officials properly follow the guideline issued by ATS," Khandwawala said.
Such mock drills have also been conducted in coastal and border areas and important cities of the state.
Comments