Force One cops can't stand heat?

MUMBAI: Force One, the crack state police unit trained to take on terrorists in an urban setting , was commissioned on Tuesday. While the efficiency of the force remains to be seen but, on Tuesday morning, a couple of them wilted under the combined ‘onslaught’ of three of Maharashtra’s seniormost politicians.

The commandos, who gave a live one-hour demonstration of their skills, were made to stand under a blazing sun for 45 more minutes as chief minister Ashok Chavan, deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal and home minister R R Patil read out their speeches.

This proved too much for the unit as two of them — who ‘‘ felt giddy and exhausted’ ’ — had to be carried into the shade by their colleagues before they collapsed . Tuesday morning’s programme , at the Goregaon State Reserve Police Force training ground, was meant to dedicate Force One to the state. Chief minister Chavan performed the ‘bhoomi pujan’ for the Force One base as acting director-general of police A N Roy, Mumbai Police commissioner D Sivanandan, directorgeneral of police (special operations ) Jayant Umranikar, ATS chief K P Raghuvanshi and other senior officers, bureaucrats and NSG representatives stood in attendance.

The commandos then performed the one-hour demonstration to exhibit their skills, showing off their coordination and firing skills and stamina, which was followed by the politicians’ speeches as the commandos stood under the sun. It was during this part of the programme that the two commandos felt uneasy and had to be shifted out; the first was taken away by his colleagues when Bhujbal was delivering his lecture and the second followed soon after. Their colleagues later told TOI that the two were on the verge of collapsing and could not stand a moment longer. Senior officials , however, brushed aside the incident. ‘‘ They were exhausted and it was nothing serious . Most of us did not even know what had happened,’’ one of them said.

Exactly 216 commandos passed out on Tuesday. The sanction strength is 256. Official said more training programmes would be conducted to select the remaining commandos . The commandos are equipped with AK-47 s, MP-5 sub-machine guns and shotguns and will carry explosives for counter-terror operations.