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Updated October 25th, 2019 at 07:25 IST

Goa: ATS holds mock drill onboard a renowned casino in Panaji

The state of Goa’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in Panaji on Thursday held a mock anti-hijacking drill onboard a renowned casino, harboured in River Mandovi

Reported by: Yash Sanghvi
Goa
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The state of Goa’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in Panaji on Thursday held a mock anti-hijacking drill onboard a renowned casino, harboured in River Mandovi in Panaji, officials have said. The ATS simulated real-time situation of a terrorist attack, the exercise which was concluded successfully today.

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Commandoes of ATS immediately responded

According to an official release, “Goa is one of the most popular tourist destinations not only in India but across the world. Keeping in mind the threat perception and to validate its standard operating procedures, a mock drill was held by ATS Goa on board the vessel Big Daddy casino.” As soon as the information of hijacking of the vessel was received, commandoes of ATS immediately responded and moved to the command post near Azad Maidan. 

Other stakeholders responded in the minimum possible time at the command post i.e. fire and Emergency services, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) Team, Officials of Captain of Ports, besides others. The commando forces of Anti-Terrorism Squad were formed into various teams for carrying out the rescue operations. The mock anti-hijacking operations were carried out efficiently by the teams whereby three terrorist elements were neutralised and two crew members who were "injured" in the operation were evacuated to nearest health centre using feeder boats. 

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Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is a special police force

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is a special police force in several states of India including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and West Bengal. In Maharashtra, it is headed by a senior of the Indian Police Service. The squad has stopped several terrorist attacks in the country. ATS was founded in Maharashtra in 1990 by then Additional Commissioner of Mumbai Police Aftab Ahmed Khan popularly known as A.A. Khan. He was inspired by the Los Angeles Police Department's Special Weapons & Tactics (SWAT) teams methods to combat modern-day terrorism. Since its formation in 1990, ATS's officers have won 23 gallantry awards. The Mumbai ATS was involved in the 26 November 2008 hostage rescue operations in multiple locations in Mumbai, Maharashtra including the 5-star hotels Taj and Oberoi Trident.

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(INPUTS FROM ANI)

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Published October 25th, 2019 at 01:28 IST

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