‘OCTOPUS will have women wing soon’

The Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations (OCTOPUS), an elite force to counter-terrorism in Andhra Pradesh, will have a women wing shortly, Director General of Police (DGP) D. Gautam Sawang has said.

At present, the OCTOPUS has operational hubs at Tirumala Tirupati Devastanams (TTD), a dedicated team at Gannavaram Airport and a high security team for Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

“The OCTOPUS commandos are trained on par with the National Security Guard (NSG) to combat terrorist activities, hostage rescue, evacuation in emergencies, VIP security and other operations. We will make the best use of the elite force,” Mr. Sawang told the media at the Police Headquarters at Mangalagiri on Tuesday.

The elite anti-terrorist force secured the top spot in the 7th All India Joint Exercise in anti-terrorist operations held at Manesar in Haryana recently. The force, under the leadership of DSP P. Jaggu Naidu, has won the overall championship in the exercise. Head constable A. Papa Rao stood as the best all rounder, the DGP said and presented certificates to the OCTOPUS commandos on the occasion.