Octopus wins top place at national level exercise
An 18-member Octopus squad picked from various ranks had gone to the NSG's Manesar base in September and took part in the competitions
VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh DGP Gautam Sawang said the state police department has achieved another feat at the national level with its elite anti-terrorist force ‘OCTOPUS’ (Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations) winning the top place in the seventh All-India Joint Exercise in Anti-Terrorist Operations. This was organised by the National Security Guard (NSG) at Manesar in Haryana.
The DGP said there is no link between AP and the seizure of heroin at Mundra port in Gujarat though political parties were leveling some baseless allegations.
Addressing a press meet here on Tuesday, DGP Sawang said an 18-member Octopus squad picked from various ranks had gone to the NSG’s Manesar base in September and took part in the competitions. For the first time, AP police won the overall championship by scoring more marks than NSG and other elite special forces.
He said Papa Rao, a head constable with Octopus, won the best all-rounder award at the individual level.
The DGP said chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy also suggested re-locating the Octopus forces and hence its services would be used at the district centres. AP Octopus was providing excellent training in the field of night-firing and there are a total of 500 Octopus officers across the state, he said.
DGP Sawang stated that AP had nothing to do with the heroin seized at the Mundra port. The central investigating agencies were probing the case and the AP police were in touch with them.
Some political parties were making baseless allegations and this would create a bad name for the state, he said.
He said that the police department was issuing notices to those making baseless allegations and warned of strong action.