‘Ex Sea Vigil 24’ witnesses counter abduction drill in Kolkata

Kolkata, Nov 21 Gunshots rang out inside the Victoria Memorial premises in Kolkata on Thursday as Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel took on 'terrorists' attempting to take a visitor - a VIP - hostage on the lawns of the iconic structure.

The encounter ended with the 'neutralisation' of eight members of the 'Red Force'.

This was part of the Indian Navy's ongoing Exercise Sea Vigil - 24. The tactical part of the exercise began on Wednesday with participants being divided into two teams - Red and Blue.

While Red team members are assigned to carry out strikes, seaborne or otherwise, on vital assets, the Blue team is supposed to thwart their efforts.

Apart from the Navy, the participants include the Coast Guard, Army, National Security Guard (NSG), CISF, marine police and others.

"Late on Wednesday, a Navy's patrol boat intercepted members of the Red Team approaching the strategic Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd in a mechanised boat. Members of the Red Team were also apprehended while trying to plant explosives under the railway tracks behind INS Netaji Subhas. This is the naval headquarters in Kolkata that is also operating as the Joint Command Centre for this exercise," a senior defence official said.

The Red Team has the liberty to select targets and the Blue Team has to react accordingly. The whole purpose of the Exercise is to check whether the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that are in place are adequate or need to be revalidated.

"As part of the Exercise, heavily armed members of the Red Team entered the Victoria Memorial lawns on Thursday morning. While four of them were apprehended while attempting to plant explosives, the CISF's Quick Response Team launched an assault on the others who were out to 'abduct' the VIP. The CISF is in charge of security at Victoria Memorial and is the first responder in such cases. The Army also sent in snipers for overwatch and neutralise the threats," the official added.

Victoria Memorial authorities also pitched in with their support by providing the details of the layout of the premises, the official said. This helped in preventing the 'terrorists' from escaping or entering the building, which is a museum.

Such 'raids' by the Red Team will continue after which all stakeholders will assess the results to decide on any improvements that need to be made to secure assets along India's coastline against non-state actors.