Avengers, the first commando unit in Kerala, came into being a year ago but a formal announcement is yet to be made. Read here about the secret police unit.
Though the state’s first-of-its-kind urban commando unit came into being a year ago, nothing much is known about it. (Supplied)
With terrorism taking new forms, Kerala is preparing for the challenge. By bifurcating the lone commando wing in the state, ThunderBolts, a 96-member “Avengers” strike force has been formed to counter threats related to urban terrorism.
Though the state’s first-of-its-kind urban commando unit came into being a year ago, nothing much is known about it. The secrecy is such that even a formal announcement is yet to be made by the Kerala government regarding the constitution of Avengers.
The urban commandos, who are being trained at the Chennai regional hub of the National Security Guard (NSG), will be deployed in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, and Kozhikode districts.
It is learned that the state’s decision to form a specialised wing for tackling urban terrorism has come against the backdrop of inputs from central agencies including the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The new wing will come under the administrative control of the Thrissur-based India Reserve Battalion (IRB).
“For terrorists, choosing urban areas for plotting attacks has its advantage. Such attacks result in large-scale casualties and material damage as well as disruption of life and economic activity,” said an IRB officer on condition of anonymity.
According to the officer, several vulnerable sites located within urban centres, especially if they are near one another, may be attractive to terrorists.
The officer added: “Depending on the size and shape of cities, their targets will change. It might also depend on the social composition, geographical, and historical features, as well as levels of economic strength. From the terrorist’s point of view, such targets could maximise the impact of their actions. In the case of Kerala, the challenges are many as the state is witnessing rapid urbanisation.”
The vulnerable areas in urban centres include markets, cinema halls, shopping areas, parks, hotels, places of worship, promenades, densely built environments, busy pedestrian, shopping and tourist areas, congested transport infrastructure, and mass gatherings.
The very concept of urban terrorism was there in the international arena for some time now. But it gained traction at the national level after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. After that, many states have formed a force of this kind. There is F1 for Maharashtra, Garuda for Karnataka, Octopus for Andhra Pradesh, and others.
It is said that Kerala has now followed suit with Avengers due to the presence of Maoists, and sympathisers of the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other banned organisations.
In 2016, an article published on the World Economic Forum website warned that cities are on the frontline of 21st-century terrorism. It also highlighted that urban terrorism is the new normal. It quoted an alert issued by the US Department of Homeland Security that said “self-radicalised actors could strike with little or no notice” and also noted that “preventing attacks by so-called lone wolves or sleeper cells requires a very different set of tactics”.
As per sources, though the conceptualisation of ‘Avengers’ took place in Kerala a year ago, it was only recently that the training programme started. It is also learned that of the 96 personnel, a majority had completed their advanced training.
According to an officer at the Kerala police headquarters, the 96-member Avengers commando unit is fighting fit and ready to tackle the menace of urban terrorism.
“They had already taken part in missions as they assisted the NIA unit in some search operations within the state. The urban commandos are now engaged in the task of recce. As part of the exercise, they had to visit such places that are strategically important, and then come up with a plan to conduct an operation if a situation arose. The list of such places prepared by central agencies and the state’s X Cell has already been provided. Their action plan will be vetted by the NSG Chennai hub,” the officer said.
Earlier, the state had formed an X Cell at the Police Headquarters for tackling emerging national and internal security issues.
The unit that came into being on 14 December 2020 is said to be keeping a tab on Maoist groups and radical outfits, organisations that support them, their cadres, their supporters, those who help them financially or otherwise, and others. The unit is also following up on cases registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Though the unit came into existence in 2020, it has collected data about the activities of such groups from 2001. So far it has 1,50,000 documents including analytical data and reports that run up to 20,000 pages.
According to the state government, the Maoist threat is prominent in Central Kerala, especially in Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, and Kannur. Maoist presence has been reported, and that too frequently, in the Muthukad area of the Peruvannamuzhi Police Station limits.
In the case of other extremist groups, the most recent that the state dealt with was the Islamic State (ISIS) Kerala module case in 2021 in which some youth were arrested for “radicalisation, recruitment, terror funding, and grooming like-minded ones to join a proscribed terrorist organisation like ISIS through different secured social media platforms”.
Another is the Vizhinjam Arms Case in 2021 in which a Sri Lankan national and a former member of the intelligence wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was arrested with arms and drugs. The person was trafficking them from Pakistan to Sri Lanka and utilising the proceeds for supporting the revival of LTTE.
In 2020, the United Nations Security Council’s Monitoring Team warned in its 26th report that there are significant numbers of operatives of ISIS in Kerala and Karnataka.
As per the National Crime Records Bureau’s latest Crime in India report, Kerala reported 10 crimes committed by left-wing extremists, five committed by terrorists, and one case of cyber-terrorism in 2021.
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