Uttar Pradesh police will now have specialised units in every district to tackle terror activities and counter hardened criminals.
"It has been decided to set up Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams in every district of the state which will be part of the crime branches of the police," IG (law and order) R K Vishwakarma told reporters here.
He said the SWAT teams will have personnel trained in commando operations.
"It has been observed that in absence of accurate intelligence inputs, police raids often fail and criminals manage to flee. The main reason being lack of expert team for such operations," he said.
Vishwakarma said the main areas of operation for SWAT teams would be to tackle terror activities, rescue abducted persons, neutralise sharp shooters and arrest hardened criminals.
"To tackle terror activities the state, police has Anti- Terror Squad, but it is not present in every district. In such cases SWAT teams would be first responder followed by ATS," he said.
He said that maximum age limit for inclusion in the SWAT team has been fixed. While the maximum age limit for the constable will be 35 years, in case of head constable and sub-inspector it will be 40, he said.
The IG said each team would comprise one SI and head constable each and eight constables. "In big cities the formation will be two SIs and head constables each and 16 constables," he said.
He said that for entry into SWAT team physical and shooting test would be taken.
Vishwakarma said the team members would have three types of uniforms - khaki, black and camouflage for different operations.
"The SWAT members will be equipped with tactical equipment like assualt rifle, glock pistol, bullet proof helmet, stun grenade, tactical lights, lazer dot aiming device and commando dagger," he said.
He also said that in first phase five-week training would be given in districts having zone headquarters.
