Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is a special

police force The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

in several states of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

including

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

and

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. In

, it is headed by senior of the

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS ...

. The squad has stopped several terrorist attacks in the country. ATS was founded in

in 1990 by then

Additional Commissioner of Police A Deputy Inspector General of Police (abbreviated as DIG) is a high-ranking official position in Police in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. India Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) is a rank i ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Aftab Ahmed Khan Aftab Ahmed Khan (27 February 1940 — 21 January 2022) was an Indian police officer (IPS)-turned-politician from Mumbai, noted for his encounter killings of gangsters from the Mumbai organized crime syndicates. He is also known as the founder ...

(popularly known as A. A. Khan). He was inspired by the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

's Special Weapons & Tactics (

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

) teams methods to combat modern-day terrorism. Since its formation in 1990, ATS's officers have won 23 gallantry awards. The Mumbai ATS was involved in the 26 November 2008 hostage rescue operations in multiple locations in

, Maharashtra including the 5 star hotels Taj, Oberoi and Trident.

Termination and reformation

The ATS was formed in December 1990 and helped reduce the crime rate in Mumbai by 70%. However, there were many human rights violations by the squad, from extreme means of torture to public shootings. Following the

1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout The 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout was a gunbattle that occurred on 16 November 1991 at the Lokhandwala Complex, Bombay (now Mumbai), between seven gangsters led by Maya Dolas and members of the Mumbai Police and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (A ...

on 16 November 1991 and many more encounters, the organization was terminated in January 1993. The leader of this program, A.A. Khan, was transferred as the

ICP ICP may refer to: Business * ICP srl, Italian manufacturer of automotive equipment and kit aircraft *Ideal customer profile: see Qualified prospect * International Comfort Products Corporation, US air conditioning and heating company * Indonesi ...

Anti Naxalite division to

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...

on 29 January 1993 following the termination of the program. One month later on 12 March 1993 the Bombay blasts occurred, and the crime rate has increased since then. As per the information available on the official website of Mumbai Police, ATS was created by the Government of Maharashtra, vide G.R. No. SAS-10/03/15/SB-IV, dated 8 July 2004."ANTI – TERRORISM SQUAD"
mumbaipolice.maharashtra.gov.in retrieved on 23 January 2019 The stated objectives of ATS are: # To gain information about anti-national elements working in any part of Maharashtra # To co-ordinate with central information agencies like the IB and

R&AW The Research and Analysis Wing (abbreviated R&AW; hi, ) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, an ...

and exchange information with them # To co-ordinate with similar agencies of other states # To track and eliminate activities of mafias,gangsters and other organized crime syndicates # To detect rackets of counterfeit currency notes and smuggling narcotic substances

Branches

Several states in India have created ATS units in their respective police forces, including : *

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

1991 shootout at Lokhandwala

On 16 November 1991 the ATS Chief, A.A. Khan, lead a squad of officers into the Swati building in

Lokhandwala Lokhandwala Complex, also known as Lokhandwala, is a large upmarket and affluent residential and commercial neighbourhood in Andheri West suburb in Mumbai, India. It is approximately 5 km from Andheri station. The name Lokhandwala come ...

, eliminating 7 gangsters including

Maya Dolas Maya Dolas (born Mahindra Dolas; 15 October 1966 — 16 November 1991) was an Indian underworld gangster who used to work for the D-Company don, Dawood Ibrahim. He was killed in an encounter at the 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout by the then ...

and

Dilip Buwa Dilip Buwa (born Dilip Kohok; 1966 — 16 November 1991) was a notorious Indian gangster who used to work for the D-Company, an international crime syndicate of the Mumbai underworld led by Dawood Ibrahim. He was one of the men who were killed ...

. The shootout lasted 4 hours and more than 450 rounds were fired.

November 2008 Mumbai attacks

The former ATS Chief

Hemant Karkare Hemant Karkare AC () (12 December 1954 – 27 November 2008) was the chief of the Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS). He was killed in action during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. In 2009, he was posthumously given the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest p ...

was killed fighting terrorists on 26 November 2008, at the Cama & Albless Hospital in the

Dhobitalao Dhobitalao (धोबीतलाव, "Washerman's Lake") is a neighborhood in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in India. Located in the South Mumbai area at an elevation of 11 m (31 ft), it used to be a location where linen was was ...

area of Mumbai. Karkare was killed with other two officers: Additional Commissioner

Ashok Kamte Ashok Kamte AC (23 February 1965 – 26 November 2008) was an Indian police officer, serving as the Additional Commissioner of the Mumbai Police supervising the Eastern region. He was killed in action during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. He was po ...

and encounter specialist

Vijay Salaskar Vijay Salaskar, AC (24 February 1957 – 26 November 2008) was an Indian police inspector and encounter specialist with the Mumbai police. He was widely credited with killing 75–80 criminals in encounters – most of these were members of t ...

. He was among the 14 police officials killed while fighting terrorists in Mumbai. The terrorists had holed up in many heritage locations of Mumbai, such as the

Taj Mahal Palace Hotel The Taj Mahal Palace is a heritage, five-star, luxury hotel in the Colaba area of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, situated next to the Gateway of India. Built in the Saracenic Revival style, it opened in 1903 as the Taj Mahal Hotel and has histor ...

and

the Oberoi ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and Trident, Nariman Point hotels. Here the terrorists had killed 146 people, wounded at least 327, and taken at least 15 people hostage. Indians accounted for 96 dead of those, and at least 300 of those injured. Karkare, a 1982 batch IPS officer, had returned to his state cadre after a seven-year tenure with the

Research and Analysis Wing The Research and Analysis Wing (abbreviated R&AW; hi, ) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, an ...

, India's external intelligence agency, in Austria.

References

External links

Maharashtra ATSUttar Pradesh ATS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anti-Terrorist Squad, Mumbai Maharashtra Police People associated with the 2008 Mumbai attacks 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout Counterterrorism in India Encounters in India Non-military counterterrorist organizations