Delhi Police new recruits get training in 'urban intervention' to combat hostage situation

New Delhi: In case of a hostage situation in the national capital, the Delhi Police do not need not wait for the NSG or SWAT commandos to arrive. This is because the city police have started training their newly inducted personnel with a specialised commando training programme.

Under the 'Urban Intervention' programme, the first batch of 25 police personnel received two weeks of training from the National Security Guard (NSG) at Manesar, where they learned how to handle hostage situations.

The police have initially planned to train 300 commandos in the coming days and later train more cops.

"Every batch of new recruits, we give them a month of training at Jharoda Kalan and three months of advanced commando training at Abhanpur in Alwar, Rajasthan, where they do firing practice. This time we decided to train them with the techniques of urban intervention," Special Commissioner of Police (Training and SPUWAC) Chhaya Sharma told PTI.

"Urban intervention is very important because we are a metro. If we need an intervention in an urban scenario, our force is ready for that? For that, we took the help of the NSG and it was very fruitful," Sharma said.

The personnel are trained in real-life hostage situations by simulating actual incidents and are provided with detailed information about their roles and responsibilities, she added.

"In urban interventions, they should be capable of containing and minimising damage. Initially, this batch will be assigned to the Delhi Police Special Cell. However, as their numbers increase, they will be deployed to the districts. They may also be stationed near malls, VVIP events, and other law and order-related situations," she added further.

Constable Ashish Malik, who is among the 25 constables who took part in the commando training programme, said, "We were inducted into the Delhi Police in 2023. After the completion of a three-month advanced commando course, which is compulsory for everyone, we also received training in a two-week capsule course called 'Urban Intervention'." "We are the first responders during any emergency situation, with external forces arriving later. We have been trained to manage the situation until external forces arrive," he said.

The personnel are trained in shooting with the CMG (Carbon Machine Gun), JVPC (Joint Venture Protective Carbine), MP5 submachine gun, and Glock 17 pistols, police said.

Another constable Rahul Kumar Mishra said, "The NSG refers to it as the city capsule, but we call it urban intervention. We learned techniques for bus intervention, metro intervention, train intervention and building intervention. We also learned room intervention, which the NSG calls the 'kill hut' technique." "We are trained in such a way that one commando can handle two to three people without a weapon," said Dinesh another commando who received the training.

"We also learn techniques for dealing with tear gas, which was widely used by terrorists during the 26/11 attack at the Taj Hotel," Constable Manoj Kodan said.

Police said the second batch of 50 constables for training in 'Urban Intervention' will begin in February next year.