Robot joins Nasik police force to fight terrorism

NASHIK: A robot has recently joined the city police force to combat terrorism by way of helping in bomb detection and disposal. The remote-controlled machine, fitted with cameras, has been inducted into the Nasik unit of Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS).

The robot was acquired by Mumbai Police in 1990 at a cost of Rs 1.20 crore. It was lying idle due to some technical defects when police decided to put the machine to use.

Nasik Police Commissioner Himanshu Roy got it repaired at a cost of Rs 3 lakh and brought it to the city.

The robot's skills were demonstrated here yesterday. Santosh Donar, a Police Inspector with BDDS, explained to reporters how the machine is used.

"When we get a call for presence of any bomb-like object we first thoroughly check it with help of our sniffer dog -- Shaan. When it gives signal that explosives are present we deploy the robot to remove them to a safe location for disposal," he said.