The Internal Security Division (ISD) – CIED of Centre for Counter Terrorism (CCT ISD-CIED) won the prestigious National Joint Counter IED Competition: ‘VISFOT KAVACH’ – VIII, which was conducted by the National Security Guards (NSG), Manesar Delhi.
In a first, the Karnataka police have won the top award in the national counter improvised explosive device (CIED) competition.
The Internal Security Division (ISD) – CIED of Centre for Counter Terrorism (CCT ISD-CIED) won the prestigious National Joint Counter IED Competition: ‘VISFOT KAVACH’ – VIII, which was conducted by the National Security Guards (NSG), Manesar Delhi.
The ISD is a special wing of the state police trained in counter terrorism operations. It was set up in 2011, post the Mumbai terror attacks on November 26, 2008.
Speaking to TNIE, Col Akkula Balakrishna, who is training the CIED team said the competition was conducted from November 11 to 16 at Manesar for all the paramilitary forces, state special forces and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).
“The teams were extensively tested in various bomb disposal (BD) techniques and put through tough IED scenario tests. There were 18 states, two Union Territories and five CAPFs, which had participated in the competition,” said the serving Army officer, who is on deputation to CCT, ISD to train and equip the Karnataka police special force to deal with any terrorist situation in the state.
“The competition recognises exceptional performance, innovation and excellence in BD techniques. The teams are judged by a panel of esteemed judges from the relevant field. The Karnataka State Police CIED team has stood first in all the categories of the competition. This is a stupendous achievement by the team and is a reflection of their hardwork, dedication and strenuous training they have undergone. They defeated all the other teams by a very high margin,” said Col Balakrishna.
He added that this is “one of the greatest achievements for the state police at the national level.”
The teams were tested in various categories, including BD courses, experience, components, equipment handling and holding, identification of explosives, fabrication of IEDs, counter IED exercises, innovations etc.
Recently, the CCT-ISD Remote Pilot Training Institute won the ‘National FICCI Drone Award, 2024’ for training and capacity building. “The FICCI had called for nominations from various stakeholders – state police, CAPFs, paramilitary forces and civil establishments, drone training institutes, and companies from across the country.
Our team was judged the best for training and capacity building. The ‘Drone Training Institute’ set up by the state police at Agara in the city is the first-of-its-kind initiative by any state police,” said the Army officer. The first edition of drone awards was instituted last year to “recognise and felicitate some of the path-breaking initiatives towards drone technology by government and private sector organisations,” he added. The CCT-CIED team conducts drone training,
source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)