Securitymen check a bag found perched on a tree on Park Street, near The Park, on Tuesday night. Nothing suspicious was found in the bag. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha

The state government claimed to have gone on a security overdrive following the back-to-back blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. But how ready is the city to tackle a terror threat? Metro takes a look at the elite units of Calcutta police that were set up to deal with emergencies.

Quick Reaction Team (QRT)

Set up in: 2002

Strength: Over 30

Objectives: A specialised force with a response time of three to five minutes, QRT is supposed to combat terrorism and carry out rescue operations.

Preparedness: With most QRT personnel deployed on VVIP duty, their slogan — Mushkil waqt aur commando shakht (commandos are strong in difficult times) — rings hollow.

Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS)

Set up in: 2002

Strength: Over 30 men and 11 dogs and eight puppies.

Objectives: To detect and defuse bombs.

Preparedness: The BDS does not have enough trainers for the dogs. The existing trainers often have to report for law and order duty. “We don’t have the expertise to deal with major blasts,” a BDS official said. “The squad has never been put to test, so we do not know how we will perform. But the confidence level is not satisfactory,” he added.

Disaster Management Group (DMG)

Set up in: May 2002

Strength: 40

Objectives: DMG is a specialised unit for carrying out relief and rescue operations.

Preparedness: Only 10 personnel are available on any given day as most are posted on VIP duty or at vital installations. Lacking basic infrastructure, the DMG is almost a non-starter. The unit has only six divers and three speedboats. “We don’t even have a vehicle of our own. We have to requisition vehicles from other departments whenever we need to rush to a spot. The unit has only one oxygen cylinder. Two of our three oxygen masks are not working,” said an official of DMG. The unit also lacks fireproof uniforms. “We could not enter Nandaram market when a major fire broke out in January. We have written to the authorities to equip us better, but nothing has happened,” a member of the unit said.

Special Action Force (SAF)

Set up in: July 2005

Strength: Around 300 men, each armed with a self-loading rifle of the AK series.

Objectives: To combat terrorist attack.

Preparedness: In a terror attack, an adequate number of personnel of the most elite wing of the city police will not be available as most of the men are busy guarding important buildings.

Commandos

Set up in: April 1998

Strength: 80 personnel, armed with carbines, Insas rifles and AK rifles.

Objectives: To assist SAF in combating terrorism.

Preparedness: Commandos are unlikely to be available for combat in an emergency as they are mostly engaged in escorting VIPs and those enjoying Z-plus security.

Special Task Force (STF)

Calcutta police formed the Special Task Force (STF) nine years after Uttar Pradesh police created such a unit. An IPS officer has been appointed as chief of the unit, but other officers have still to be named. The wing is yet to start functioning.