Hyderabad: The Organisation for Counter Terrorism Operations (Octopus) in the two Telugu states has now equipped its snipers with German-made weapons.
The commandos are now equipped with the PSG1A1, precision-shooter weapon. The weapon is an upgraded version of the PSG1 variant used by various counter terrorism agencies in the country. Recently, the National Security Guard (Black Cats) also procured a consignment of the advanced weapon and its sharpshooters are practicing on it.
“A total of 30 weapons were recently acquired by Octopus, the order for which was placed by then united Andhra Pradesh government. The weapons were divided in the ratio of 18:12. The Telangana unit of Octopus received 12 weapons,” said an official.
Officials maintained that the PSG1A1 gives an edge to sharp-shooters over other variations. It weighs about 7.2 kg with a telescopic sight. The PSG1A1 is outfitted with a Schmidst and Bender 3-12x50 police Marksman II scope, mounted on 34 mm (1.3 inch) rings.
“The German PSG1A1 carries an enhanced number of 20 rounds, to engage and pin down targets for a longer time, and is complemented with a longer range and extreme accuracy,” said the official. A sharp-shooter can aim at a person in a range of at least one km.
The Octopus unit consists of a trained snipers unit who are drafted during VVIP visits to the state. Officials did not get into the details of the exact numbers, but said there are enough snipers to meet the needs during anti-extremist or terrorist operations.
The Octopus has weapons like the US-made 9mm Colt SMG, German-made MP5 SD, Austria-made Glock 19, Israel-made Corner Shot Model that can scan a corner and fire, apart from several others small advanced arms.
