Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations

Last updated

Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations
AbbreviationOCTOPUS
Agency overview
Formed1 October, 2007
Employees1700 [1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, India
General nature
Specialist jurisdiction
  • Counter terrorism, special weapons operations. Protection of internationally protected persons, other very important persons, and/or of state property of significance.
Operational structure
HeadquartersKhalsa Ibrahimpatnam Village, Hyderabad, India

The Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations (OCTOPUS) is an elite counter terrorism joint unit of the Andhra Pradesh Police in the state of Andhra Pradesh & and the Telangana Police in the state of Telangana in India. [1] [2]

Contents

History

On 1 October 2007, the Andhra Pradesh cabinet approved the formation of OCTOPUS. [3]

Headquarters

OCTOPUS Commando Training Center was inaugurated on 13 August 2012, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy at Khalsa Ibrahimpatnam Village near Hyderabad, with 570 acres land area. Before this, they had been based at a makeshift headquarters. [4] [1]

Achievements

Training

The commandos are trained in handling sophisticated weapons such as Glock-19 pistols, Colt 9mm SMG, Franchi SPAS-15 dual mode shotguns, sniper rifles, taser guns and corner shot systems.

On 16 November 2012, tenders were invited for the supply of a sample jet pack unit to the OCTOPUS. Plans have been made to acquire more jetpacks in the future. [6] [7]

Organisation and role

About 100 OCTOPUS personnel have been deployed at the Tirumala Venkateswara temple to oversee the temple security. [4] [1]

Deployment

After Telangana formation

After bifurcation

Of the 1590 commandos for the OCTOPUS, the force was divided on the basis of options exercised by the staff [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special forces of India</span> Special units or platoons of the Indian army performing special tasks

India has several Special Forces (SF) units, with the branches of the Indian Armed Forces having their own separate special forces units. The Indian Army has the Para SF, the Indian Navy has the MARCOS, and the Indian Air Force has the Garud Commando Force. There are other special forces which are not controlled by the military, but operate under civilian organisations, such as the National Security Guard under Home Ministry and Special Group under RAW. Small groups from the military SF units are deputed in the Armed Forces Special Operations Division, a unified command and control structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telugu Desam Party</span> Indian political party

The Telugu Desam Party is an Indian Telugu regionalist political party with influence in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It was founded by the former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N. T. Rama Rao (N.T.R.) on 29 March 1982 and has focused on supporting Telugu speakers. The party has won a five-time majority in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and has emerged as the most successful political outfit in the state's history. It is currently the ruling party in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Reserve Police Force</span> Federal police force in India

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is an internal security and combat force in India under the Government of India. It is one of the Central Armed Police Forces. The CRPF's primary role lies in assisting the State Territories in police operations to maintain law and order and counter-insurgency. It is composed of Central Reserve Police Force (Regular) and Central Reserve Police Force (Auxiliary).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Security Guard</span> Indian counterterrorism force

The National Security Guard (NSG), commonly known as Black Cats, is a counter-terrorism unit of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was founded on 16 October 1984, following Operation Blue Star, to combat terrorist activities and protect states against internal disturbances. Formalised in the Parliament of India under the National Security Guard Act, 1986. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garud Commando Force</span> Indian Air Force unit

The Garud Commando Force is the special forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed in February 2004 and has a current strength of over 1500 personnel. The unit derives its name from Garuda, a Hindu deity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Mumbai attacks</span> Terrorist attacks in India

The 2008 Mumbai attacks were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant Islamist organisation from Pakistan, carried out 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks lasting four days across Mumbai. The attacks, which drew widespread global condemnation, began on Wednesday 26 November and lasted until Saturday 29 November 2008. A total of 175 people died, including nine of the attackers, with more than 300 injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odisha Police</span> State police force in India

The Odisha Police abbreviated as either OP or OPS, is the law enforcement agency for the state of Odisha in India. It is headquartered in Cuttack, the former capital of Odisha. The Odisha Police is headed by a Director General of Police, currently Sunil Kumar Bansal, IPS and falls under the purview of the state's Home Department of the Government of Odisha. The sanctioned personnel strength of Odisha Police is 72,145; comprising women as one-third of its total sanctioned strength in the directly recruited posts of civil constable, sub-inspector and deputy superintendent of police. This feat makes it one of the foremost in that aspect among the police services of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Force One (police)</span> Specialised unit of the Mumbai Police

Force One is a specialised counter terrorism unit of the Mumbai Police to guard the Mumbai metropolitan area, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, formed by the Government of Maharashtra on the lines of National Security Guards (NSG). It was formed under Maharashtra Police, as a response to the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and was commissioned two days before its first anniversary at the time of establishment Shri Jayant Patil was State Home Minister of Maharashtra. On the occasion, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan also laid the foundation stone of the Force One's headquarters in Mumbai. One of the primary tasks of the unit will be to protect the Maharashtra Legislature as well as several politicians within the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telangana movement</span> Revolt for the separate state of Telangana, in India

The Telangana movement refers to a movement for the creation of a separate state, Telangana, from the pre-existing state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The new state corresponds to the Telugu-speaking portions of the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad, which were merged with Andhra Pradesh in 1956, leading to the Mulki Agitations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greyhounds (police)</span> Tactical police units in India

Greyhounds is a police special forces unit of the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Police departments in India. Greyhounds specialises in counter-insurgency operations against Naxalite and Maoist terrorists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Srikrishna Committee</span> Indian committee to look into the demand for the statehood of Telangana

Srikrishna Committee on Telangana or the Committee for Consultations on the Situation in Andhra Pradesh (CCSAP) is a committee headed by Justice B. N. Srikrishna to look into the demand for separate statehood for Telangana or keep the State united in the present form, Andhra Pradesh. The committee was constituted by the Government of India on 3 February 2010 and submitted its report on 30 December 2010 to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samaikyandhra Movement</span>

Samaikya Andhra Movement was a movement organized to keep the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh united, and to prevent the division of the state - separating the Telangana districts of the state into a separate Telangana state. The movement was supported by government employees, advocates in Coastal Andhra & Rayalaseema regions along with students from 14 universities, various occupational, caste & religious groups of Coastal Andhra & Rayalaseema regions. The last set of protests were triggered after the Congress Working Committee decision to divide the state came to an end after President of India gave nod to Telangana Bill which would make the latter to come into existence from 2 June 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerala Thunderbolts</span>

Kerala Thunderbolts is an elite commando force of the Kerala Police under the India Reserve Battalion, set up in accordance with the Indian central government's directions post the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The commando force has been created to counter possible terror strikes and carry out counterinsurgency operations in Kerala. The force modeled on the Special Protection Group and National Security Guard are trained to engage in air, water and land attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Hyderabad blasts</span> Terrorist attacks at a market in India

On 21 February 2013, at around 19:00 IST, two blasts occurred in the city of Hyderabad, India. The bombs exploded in Dilsukhnagar, a crowded shopping area, within 100 metres (330 ft) of each other. The first explosion occurred outside a roadside eatery named A1 Mirchi, next to the Anand Tiffin Centre and opposite the Konark movie hall, followed by the second one two minutes later near the Route 107 bus stand close to the Venkatadri theatre. In December 2016, Yasin Bhatkal - the co-founder of Indian Mujahideen, Pakistani national Zia-ur-Rahman, Asadullah Akhtar, Tahaseen Akhtar, and Ajaz Shaikh were given a death-sentence by a National Investigation Agency special court for carrying out the attacks under the Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

The Special Tactical Unit (STU) is an urban counter terrorist unit of the Odisha Police in Odisha, India. They specialise in urban warfare scenarios including hostage situations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Operation Group (Odisha)</span> Elite police unit in Odisha, India

The Special Operation Group (SOG) is an elite Commando unit raised by the Odisha Police to combat the left-wing extremists in the state. The SOG specializes in jungle warfare and have been hugely successful in controlling violence by armed guerillas of the Left Wing extremist groups, more popularly called 'Naxalites' in India.

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, commonly known as the Telangana Act, is an Act of Indian Parliament that split the state of Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and the residuary Andhra Pradesh state, as an outcome of the Telangana movement. The Act defined the boundaries of the two states, determined how the assets and liabilities were to be divided, and laid out the status of Hyderabad as the permanent capital of new Telangana state and temporary capital of the Andhra Pradesh state.

Operation Puttur was an anti-terror operation launched jointly by the Tamil Nadu Police and the Andhra Pradesh Police, which captured two terror suspects in Puttur on 5 October 2013. Part of the banned Al Ummah outfit, they were planning to plant bombs at the famed Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, the most visited temple in India. The suspects also had a plan to murder a famous person in Chennai in the name of the "Muslim Defence Force." The operation reportedly ended those conspiracies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Armed Forces in Jammu and Kashmir</span> Overview of the Indian military presence in Jammu and Kashmir

Indian Armed Forces in Jammu and Kashmir encompass the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, tri-service units such as the Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD), and paramilitary organisations of the Central Armed Police Forces such as the Border Security Force, the Central Reserve Police Force, the Sashastra Seema Bal and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. Each three wings of India's military have their special forces deployed in the region including Indian Army's Para SF, the Indian Navy MARCOS and the Indian Air Force's Garud Commando Force. Apart from this, there is the elite police anti-insurgency force in the region, the Special Operations Group, of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Nidigattu Sanjay, better known as N. Sanjay, is a Silver jubilee 1996-batch Regular Recruit (RR) Indian Police Service Officer belonging to Andhra Pradesh cadre. At present, Sanjay is the Chief of AP Criminal Investigation Department. He also holds full additional charges as Director-General of AP Disaster Response and Fire Services and as Director, AP Police Personnel and Training.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Andhra anti-terror force Octopus gets its headquarters". NDTV . 13 August 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  2. "Octopus conducts mock drill at Telangana High Court". Telangana Today. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  3. "OCTOPUS - Andhra Pradesh's terror response". Rediff . 1 October 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Kiran opens Octopus headquarters". The Hindu . 14 August 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  5. "AP Octopus force tops national level meet".
  6. "AP cops plan to fly into James Bond era". The New Indian Express . 23 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  7. "Andhra Pradesh police plan to fight terror on the fly". The New Indian Express . 26 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  8. Hareesh, P (5 July 2017). "OCTOPUS faces its second major Op after formation". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  9. "AP Reorganization Act, 2014".