By IANS,
Bangalore : Home Minister P. Chidambaram Friday said that personnel of the Special Forces Unit, an anti-terrorist force set up in Bangalore following the Mumbai terror attacks, were “available for deployment at short notice”.
Chidambaram, who flew in here from Orissa, said: “At present, the SFU has 100 men of all ranks and by the end of this month, we will have approximately 600 people (in the unit).”
The SFU comprises officers and men of the army and has been set up in Bangalore in lieu of the National Security Guards whose deployment the state government has been demanding.
The central government decided to set up four hubs of the NSG in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks and provide army cover to other important cities.
The home minister declined to take questions from the media, which had been waiting for him for over an hour at an army office in the heart of Bangalore.
“I wish to assure the people of Karnataka, especially the people of Bengaluru, that the government of India has fulfilled its promises to locate a specialised, well trained and well equipped counter-terrorist force to meet any terrorist threat,” Chidambaram said reading out from a statement.
He said the SFU men “are fully equipped and well trained. They are available for deployment at short notice”.