In a knee-jerk reaction to reports of the Bangalore angle in the foiled UK terror plot, the State government on Tuesday announced that an exclusive anti-terrorist force would be formed for Bangalore city, comprising only youngsters in the age group of 25-27 years.
Home and Law Minister M P Prakash, who announced this in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, stated that physical and mental fitness would be accorded priority, while selecting members for the force.
The youngsters also have to be intelligent enough to foresee the possible activities of terrorists and evolve plans to counter their plan.
Free edn for kids
Mr Prakash added that those recruited into the anti-terrorist force would be offered 30 per cent additional salary as incentive, besides  free education to their children and adequate protection to family members.
Members of this force would be provided special training. Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who also holds  the finance portfolio, has agreed to the proposal.
Meanwhile, DG & IG K R Srinivasan told reporters in the evening that the police had requested the government to see that the   proposed  anti-terrorist squad for Bangalore should be modelled on the lines of the one in Mumbai.
Personnel in the special squad would be imparted specialised training.
A dialogue is on with other anti-terrorist squads in the country. Referring to the seized computer hard disc of Kafeel Ahmed, Mr Prakash said that the former had  entrusted it with his family members to protect it, stating that it contained minformation that would help him with projects.
However, Kafeel’s sister, Sadia Kausar, had left the disc with one of her friends, thinking that the disc would be safer, if it was not with them.
Cracking the code
Meanwhile, the police have approached the Indian Institute of Science for breaking the password to ascertain the contents in the disc.
“The IISc director was in Thiruvananthapuram when contacted. The police will be able to study the contents in the disc only after the expert decodes it,” he added.
On Haneef’s activities in Bangalore, the home minister said that the police were ascertaining the information that Haneef had taken part in some meetings and had made speeches which were said to be provocative.
He added, “the police are verifying the information and analysing possibility of registering a case in this regard”.