Response 10: Another elite force in the making in Mumbai

In a few months, Mumbai citizens will witness a specialised anti-terrorist squad within the Mumbai police, called Response 10.

As per an initiative of the Mumbai police, training will be imparted to some of its men in how to tackle a terrorist attack and respond to such a situation within ten minutes before specialised forces like the QRT, Force One and NSG come into play.

An announcement to this effect was made by the Mumbai commissioner of police, Arup Patnaik, on Tuesday.

“We have seen in the past that whenever there are gun battles on the road, the first ones to respond are the beat marshals and patrolling vans. We will be training these beat marshals and patrolling men so that in case of any incident like 26/11, they respond to the situation within ten minutes, and are in a position to engage the terrorists until specialised forces like the Quick Response Team, Force One or National Security Guards arrive and take charge of the situation,” Patnaik said.

Patnaik said that the plan to set up a full-fledged Response 10 team was still in the pipeline, and the force would soon be ready. “We are also working on aspects  such as their training and weaponry,” he said.

Mumbai has also trained 17 officers in Hostage and Crisis Negotiation with the help of United Kingdom police. “The aim of this team is save lives, buy time, gather intelligence, pass information to the tactical support team and update the commander,” said Patnaik.