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| The all-female SWAT team (courtesy: Indraneel Chowdhury/PTI) |
India gets its first all-female Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team for anti-terrorist operations. Out of 36 commandos, 13 members are from Assam and rest hail from the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Manipur in North-east India. Trained by specialists from India and abroad, the 36 female commandos from northeastern states have been inducted into the squad after rigorous, 15-month training.
According to the Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik, who was behind the idea of the SWAT team, the team is ready to take on hostage crises and terror strikes in urban areas. The members of this all-women SWAT team received better ratings at the Police Training College in Jharoda Kalan than their male counterparts.
SPECIALITIES
✔️ The team is armed with MP5 submachine guns and Glock 21 pistols.✔️ Every member of the SWAT is well-versed in Israeli Krav Maga, an unarmed combat style.
✔️ The commandos can undertake complex operations during terrorist attacks at crowded markets, residential complexes or government premises.
✔️ All the members are experts in building interventions, counter ambush and VVIP security.
India's all-female SWAT team is a major accomplishment 'globally' because most of the western countries do not have all-women SWAT teams owing to the kind of training required to become one.
The blue-color uniform of the SWAT team is designed by fashion designer Ashish N Soni.
Sonira, a member of the SWAT team, who belongs to Sikkim said, “It feels good that I was chosen for this. I have been in Delhi from 2016 and I have felt that we get strange looks when we step out while we are not in uniform. Once I had gone to the market with my friends and some one called us ‘Chinky’. I gave him a stern look and he fled. I hope to change the perception of people.”
This all-female commando team was deployed for the first time at Red Fort and India Gate in Delhi during Independence Day celebrations on Aug 15, 2018.
