26/11 lesson: Maharashtra cops to get night vision devices

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Government will soon equip the police force with night vision devices (NVDs) as part of a modernisation drive following the Mumbai terror attack.

Home Minister Jayant Patil confirmed that the process to purchase NVDs is on and said the devices would be made available in a couple of months.

"NVD is part of high-tech equipment we are purchasing for the police force to modernise it. This will help police to aim at the target in darkness," Patil told the media.

"We are equipping the force with modern gadgets so that they could deal with any situation effectively and act swiftly."

Weighing 0.45kg, the device will have a detection range of 150 metres and recognition span of 100 metres. The hands-free instrument improves the detection capacity of the normal eye and enables the user to detect the objects. It was originally intended for military use to aid the users in tracking down opponent in darkness.

The government took this decision after it realised that the law enforcing agencies in the state, including Mumbai Police and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), were unable to locate terrorists during the November 26 attacks due to darkness and struggled to deal with the situation.