Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations


Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations is an elite counter terrorism joint unit of the Andhra Pradesh Police in the state of Andhra Pradesh & and the Telangana Police in the state of Telangana in India.

History

On 1 October 2007, the Andhra Pradesh cabinet approved the formation of OCTOPUS.

Headquarters

OCTOPUS Commando Training Center was inaugurated on 13 August 2012, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy at Khalsa Ibrahimpatnam Village near Hyderabad, with 570 acres land area. Before this, they had been based at a makeshift headquarters.

Training

The commandos are trained in handling sophisticated weapons such as Glock-19 pistols, Colt-9 mm SMGs, Franchi Spas 15 dual mode shotguns, sniper rifles, Taser guns and corner shot systems.
On 16 November 2012, tenders were invited for the supply of a sample jet pack unit to the OCTOPUS. Plans have been made to acquire more jetpacks in the future.

Organisation and role

About 100 OCTOPUS personnel have been deployed at the Tirumala Venkateswara temple to oversee the temple security.

Deployment

Of the 1590 commandos for the OCTOPUS, the force was divided on the basis of options exercised by the staff