Cops game for a reality check

Catch them if you can — the Western Naval Command has thrown down the gauntlet and the police are game.

A handful of navy and coast guard officers have spread out across the city incognito and the police have been handed the challenge of identifying them by Thursday evening.

It’s a mock drill that will put the police’s ability of spotting suspicious people and activities to test. For a force completely taken by surprise by the 26/11 intruders, this will be a crucial reality check of their preparedness.

This drill will continue till Thursday evening, which is the deadline for the police and other security agencies to nab the military officers roaming in the city masquerading as terrorists.

Serious about the challenge, the police launched strict checks at all entry and exit points of the city on Wednesday. Railway stations, important traffic junctions and critical locations were under the scanner.

This will continue through Thursday. The agility matched the burst of action that follows a terror alert. Armed with metal detectors, the police, including traffic and railway cops, subjected everybody to thorough checks.

Every four-wheeler and two-wheeler was checked, scrutinised and then asked to proceed. A senior police official said: “We have been told to conduct tight security checks at our respective postings and look for terrorists, if any, roaming in the city. The security check drive is such that no person is being spared in these checks. The drill is to check the preparedness of the police force.”

Another senior police official said: “The operation is an exercise to bring along all the agencies under one umbrella to make sure the state is not hit by any terrorist attacks again.”

In this drill, other agencies from the state government have also been roped in. They include administrative wings like the Mantralaya and the Mumbai Port Trust.