The elite anti-left wing extremist force of the State police, Greyhounds, which won laurels for its successful operations in Maoist-affected areas, is also being bifurcated.
The present unit of Greyhounds comprising men and officers on deputation from different police wings of the State will be divided into two, one for the Telangana State coming into existence from June 2 and the other for the successor Andhra Pradesh State.
Initially, the police top brass mooted a proposal not to divide the key and special police units such as the Greyhounds and OCTOPUS at least for next three years in the backdrop of creation of Telangana.
Logistics and difficulty in creating trained commando force like Greyhounds in short time were cited as reasons for the putting on hold bifurcation of Greyhounds. Creation of operational bases vis-à-vis uncertainty over location of capital for the successor State too was a crucial factor that drove officials to keep division of the force in abeyance for some time.
However, finally it was resolved to divide this special unit after consultations with the Union Home Ministry officials and all stake holders of the Government here. All the equipment, gadgets and modern arms as well as ammunition and articles possessed by the Greyhounds would also be shared by the two units to be carved out soon. The present Greyhound training centre at Premavathipet would be with the Telangana State, it is learnt.
“Unlike the Andhra Pradesh Special Police (APSP), Greyhounds is a small unit. Most of its members are on deputation. Depending on nativity, these personnel would be retained with Telangana or sent to the successor State,” said a police officer, seeking anonymity. More or less, the soon to be created two divisions will consist of equal strength though a slight variation cannot be ruled out, he added.
