Formed November 26, 2010 | Employees 300 commandos | |
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Legal personality Governmental: Government agency Operations jurisdiction* State of Maharashtra, India General nature Law enforcement
Local civilian agency Specialist jurisdiction Counter terrorism, special weapons and tactics, protection of VIPs. | ||
Force One is an elite commando force, which is a specialised counter terrorism unit to guard the Mumbai metropolitan area, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, formed by Government of Maharashtra on the lines of National Security Guards (NSG). It was formed under Maharashtra Police, as a response to the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and was commissioned two days before its first anniversary, on the occasion Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, also laid the foundation stone of the Force One's headquarters in Mumbai. It was recently announced that one of their primary tasks will be to protect the Maharashtra Legislature as well as several politicians within the state. This force boasts of the fastest response time in the world and responds to a terror strike in less than 15 minutes.
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Overview
The commandos of Force One are trained at Maharashtra Intelligence Academy, the College of Military Engineering, Pune, and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in the use of sophisticated arms and explosives, known for its rapid shooting skills. While the NSG has a regional hub in Mumbai, Force One is expected to be part of the initial response to a terror strike in Mumbai.
Force One takes 15 minutes to get ready and respond to a terror strike.
Creation
In wake of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the Government of Maharashtra decided to form a new, specialised force to tackle terror. It was commissioned on November 24, 2009 on SRPF Ground of suburban Goregaon, Mumbai. The initial training of the unit was made under the help and supervision of Israeli Special Forces. After two months of basic training by Israeli specialists, Force One was founded. Force One headquarters is to be spread over 96 acres (390,000 m2) inside the lush green Aarey Milk Colony at Goregaon in northwest Mumbai, and the first batch has 216 elite commandos. At present the post of the chief of Force One lies vacant.
Out of 3,000 applications from the state police force who volunteered to be part of the force - many of whom were part of 26/11 response team - 261 personnel were selected and trained in Pune, apart from the College of Military Engineering and the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).