June 6: City police have a new vehicle, the sturdy Mahindra Bolero Invader, to help them give criminals a hot chase.

The tried and tested vehicle of the city police, the Maruti Gypsy, has found a competitor in the Invader as the Assam police headquarters has provided four such vehicles to the city police.

“We have got these vehicles from the police headquarters under the modernisation scheme which is expected to add more teeth to our existing fleet of vehicles,” city superintendent of police Hiren Chandra Nath said.

The four Invaders are out of 35 new vehicles available to the city police for efficiency in operations as most of the existing vehicles have outlived their utility.

“Altogether we have got 35 vehicles, including Invaders and Maruti Gypsies, which will be provided to all the police stations and the traffic police branches according to their requirements,” said Nath.

The city police have also been provided 55 motorbikes, most of which will be used for patrolling.

This fresh consignment of vehicles is expected to ease the problem of vehicle shortage faced by the police.

“Since we need strong vehicles to carry out our regular duties and conduct operations on difficult terrain, the new fleet of vehicles will be of immense help to us,” he added.

The city police require at least 300 vehicles for proper functioning.

Under the modernisation scheme, buildings of seven police stations in different parts of the city have also been renovated, apart from the police reserve building and lower subordinate quarters.

Assam police plan to procure state-of-the-art 800-MHz digital trunking radios (DTRS) to prevent interception of their wireless messages by militant outfits. Altogether 74 officials will be given the radio sets, based on their seniority and the priority of their portfolios.