26/11 lesson: Maharashtra cops to get night vision devices

The Maharashtra Government will soon equip the police force with night vision devices (NVDs) as part of a modernisation drive following the Mumbai terror attack.

Home minister Jayant Patil confirmed that the process to purchase NVDs is on and said the devices would be made available in a couple of months.

"NVD is part of high-tech equipment we are purchasing for the police force to modernise it. This will help police to aim at the target in darkness," Patil said.

"We are equipping the force with modern gadgets so that they could deal with any situation effectively and act swiftly."

Weighing 0.45kg, the device will have a detection range of 150 metres and recognition span of 100 metres. The hands-free instrument improves the detection capacity of the normal eye and enables the user to detect the objects. It was originally intended for military use to aid the users in tracking down opponent in darkness.

The government took this decision after it realised that the law enforcing agencies in the state, including Mumbai Police and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), were unable to locate terrorists during the November 26 attacks due to darkness and struggled to deal with the situation.

The elite National Security Guards (NSG), flown in from Delhi, was pressed into action to fight the terrorists during the attack and it took 59 hours to bring the situation under control.

Such an equipment is the need of the hour, said KP Raghuvanshi, Additional director general of Police who also heads the ATS which lost its chief Hemant Karkare during the terror strikes.

"It is very difficult to pinpoint where someone is hiding during an operation in the dark. Such advanced equipment will always help the police to aim at the target, and help ensure police personnel's safety," he said.

A senior official, who was involved in the operation during the attacks, said, "the equipment should have been purchased long ago as Mumbai has always been a soft target. There is no point having modern assault weapons like AK-47 if you cannot locate the target. NVDs will do just that."

In the backdrop of threat perception to Maharashtra, particularly the financial capital, the state government has also decided to set up an elite commando unit called `Force One' on the lines of NSG.

As the process to form 'Force One' gained momentum, NSG officials also visited various sites in neighbouring Thane district to select land for setting up their unit.