Indian Navy to train marine police of Odisha

Bhubaneswar: In a major step to enhance its counter-terrorism capabilities in coastal belt, the State marine police will now train under the Indian Navy.

Speaking on the development, Home Department Secretary Asit Tripathy said “The Navy would train 50 police officials with them at INS Chillika in two batches starting from July.”

"The Navy has given green signal to our request to train Marine police officials. They have decided to provide basic training on seamanship, following Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) during counter-terrorism operations in coastal areas, tracking illegal trawlers and pirates," Tripathy told mediapersons.

In order to strengthen its marine security , the state government has set up 18 marine police stations along its 485 km long coastline.

Coastal security exercises with various agencies such as Indian Navy, Coast Guard, Ports, Maritime Police is being organised as a step to enhance marine security.