Prahaar Push: Delhi To Get Its Own Anti-Terror Squad

New Delhi: In a strategic move to fortify the capital, a revamped counter-terror unit by the name of Delhi Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) is being conceptualised under the newly launched Prahaar policy, sources say. This specialised force will be designed to protect Delhi from both hostile state and non-state actors, reflecting a modernised approach to urban defence.
Currently, the special cell handles anti-terror operations in the city. While the final modalities are being refined, the ATS, which will also be tasked to crack down on the terror-gangster nexus, is expected to be organised into three or four distinct subunits, each dedicated to critical functions such as operations, intelligence, investigation, cyber and technical support, and training.In preparation for the full rollout, four ACP-rank officers have already been posted to the unit; they will be assigned specific portfolios once the subunit structures are finalised. States like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh have functioning ATS. A similar unit is coming up in Haryana as well. Anti-terror investigators explained that the capital's security landscape has drastically changed after Operation Sindoor and the car blast near Red Fort last year. "The move is aligned with the rollout of an upgraded national counter-terrorism policy and strategy, aiming to provide a unified, ‘360-degree' framework for all states to combat terrorism. The policy addresses digital radicalisation and foreign-funded, cross-border threats," a senior officer said. TOI had earlier reported how Delhi needs a concise ATS, focused on combating evolving threats and white-collar terror modules like the recent one involving doctors in Faridabad. To ensure high-level oversight, the ATS will be led by a special commissioner of police, supported by two additional commissioners and a team of three to four DCPs. While one sub-unit will handle the operations and investigation, there will be two separate units for counter-intelligence and technical support. They will be headed by a DCP-rank officer. One of the existing special cell DCPs, Manishi Chandra, is likely to be posted as DCP (ops) of the ATS, while Pramod Kushwaha, additional CP of special cell, will also be inducted in the ATS. Special CP (special cell) Anil Shukla, under whom Delhi witnessed a blast after 14 years, is likely to be in the new force as well, said the source. Police commissioner Satish Golcha, however, is learnt to be also keen on also having new faces in the ATS so that the exercise doesn't remain confined to a change of name from special cell, the source added.The new unit will include legal experts and forensic specialists and will be designed to dismantle terror modules that are increasingly becoming transnational and digitally sophisticated. The unit will also be equipped with a dedicated technical and financial data cell, allowing for real-time monitoring of digital footprints and clandestine money trails, including cryptocurrency transactions often used by international handlers.Besides handling anti-terror operations, the ATS, like the special cell, will work on organised crime and narco-terror syndicates. The escalating nexus between organised crime syndicates and global terror modules has necessitated a paradigm shift in the national capital's security apparatus, officers explained.The proposed ATS will also focus on dismantling the "jail-to-street" pipeline, aimed at severing communication channels that allow incarcerated kingpins to coordinate violence outside prison walls. The war against the terror-gangster nexus will intensify with the ATS also focusing on dismantling the financial networks and operational hideouts of notorious syndicates, such as the Goldy Brar-Lawrence Bishnoi and Himanshu Bhau gangs. "For years, Delhi has grappled with the ‘gangster-terrorist cocktail', where local hoodlums involved in extortion and land-grabbing are recruited by foreign-based handlers to execute high-profile hits or logistics for terror operations. By institutionalising this unit, the ATS will be moving away from reactive policing toward a specialised, intelligence-led offensive," a retired police commissioner said. The ATS will be positioned to invoke the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) as well as UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act), focusing on the pecuniary networks — the financial lifelines — of these gangs. This will also help in choking the "proceeds of crime" that fund weapon procurement and recruitment.