PANAJI: Goa police’s anti-terrorist squad (ATS) appears ill-equipped to deal with the frequent alerts the state receives, as its vehicles — five ramshackled jeeps that break down regularly — are barely enough to take on the increasingly well-equipped terrorists should they decide to strike in Goa. A source told TOI that ATS has been sending proposals for replacement of old vehicles to Goa police, but there doesn’t seem to be any progress in the matter. Two of the jeeps are two decades old, and two others are around 10 years old. The four patrol Margao, Vasco, Panaji and Mapusa. Superintendent of police (SP) Bossuet Silva, who is in charge of motor transport, said, “Goa police is in process of allotting new vehicles to the ATS”. The vehicle that patrols Margao has an area up to Canacona within its jurisdiction, and the Mapusa vehicle takes care of the North Goa coastal belt, right up to Pernem. The Panaji vehicle looks after an area up to Ponda, while the Vasco jeep patrols the Mormugao taluka. Police said that other vehicles purchased along with these ATS vehicles have been scrapped, but the squad continues to use these vehicles. “Today (on Saturday), one vehicle broke down in Verna,” a source said, adding that these incidents happen every couple of days, leading to embarrassment to the commandos. Pointing out that Goa receives frequent terror alerts as it is an international tourist destination, sources said that in case of an untoward incident, it’s unlikely an old ATS vehicle will make it to the spot without it breaking down. Goa police has recently added new vehicles to its fleet, but not a single one was allotted to the ATS. Some ATS staff use their own vehicles for beat patrolling and later claim reimbursement, a source said. ATS conducts beat patrolling at Canacona, Quepem, Colva, Margao, Vasco, Panaji, Calangute, Mapusa, Pernem, Bicholim and Ponda. The state government formed a quick reaction team in 2009, and later, in 2014, the state constituted an ATS to investigate terror-related cases, with a sanctioned strength of 102 personnel. At present, the ATS has around 150 personnel. The ATS is headed by superintendent of police (SP) Shobhit Saxena and deputy superintendent of police (DySP) Sandesh Chodankar. It has two police inspectors and seven police sub-inspectors. Cases probed by the ATS include terrorist activities, offences against the state, activities of gangsters, smugglers, gun runners, mafia, counterfeiters and narcotics smugglers, offences prejudicial to national security, etc.
Goa police’s anti-terrorist squad struggling with rickety vehicles
