TN to augment police arsenal

As part of beefing up the state police arsenal, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami today said weaponry like submachine gun, anti-riot vehicles and a host of security and surveillance gadgets would be procured at a cost of Rs 183.11 crore.

Nineteen types of weaponry like remington gun, under barrel grenade launcher and submachine gun would be procured at a cost of Rs 4.20 crore for training police personnel, he said.

He said multi-shell launcher (MSL) and gas gun would also be bought.

MSL can be used for firing teargas shells and smoke grenades, while gas guns could be used to fire teargas shells.

As many as 1397 police vehicles including 33 anti-riot vehicles ('Vajra' and 'Varun') would be bought at a cost of 119.73 crore, he said after winding up his reply to the demand for grants to the police department.

Palaniswami said an anti-riot software with features like crowd monitoring would be developed at a cost of Rs 1.32 crore by roping in the Indian Institute of Information Technology here.

Security equipment like non-linear junction detectors, explosive vapour detectors, deep search metal detectors, binoculars (day and night vision) and prodder would be bought at a cost of Rs 1.96 crore, he said.

Communication gadgets including 'walkie-talkie,' would be purchased at a cost of Rs 31.63 crore for striking force personnel.

Also, Internet Protocol cameras to monitor functioning of police stations and mobile CCTV systems for field policing would be purchased at a cost of Rs. 21.27 crore.

The chief minister's announcement on procurement of anti-riot vehicles and gadgets comes in the backdrop of last month's anti-Sterlite protests which saw violence and police firing in which 13 people died.

The 1397 vehicles to be purchased include 24 mobile toilet vans for use by Chennai police, he added.

The announcements he made for the departments of police, forensic science and fire and rescue services, include new equipment for forensic sciences department at a cost of Rs 8.31 crore and movable barricades at a cost of Rs three crore.