CHENNAI: As today’s scenario has metamorphosed from mobs hurling bricks to mobsters wielding AK-47s, the police cannot be allowed to be outgunned and overwhelmed, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa asserted here on Thursday.She was speaking at the valediction function of the 11th All India Police Rifle/Revolver/Pistol Shooting Competition held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.Distributing medals and trophies to winners of the five-day event in which 702 personnel from 22 State police teams and eight Central police organisations participated, the chief minister recalled the 26/11 incidents in Mumbai to stress her point.“The recent memory of a video clipping showing a gunman in Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminus in Mumbai firing indiscriminately with an AK-47 on 26/11, while a brave constable tried to return fire with a .303 rifle is still green. Unable to make any impact, he finally flings a chair at the gunman,” she said.In this context, Jayalalithaa claimed credit for modernisation of the police force throughout the country. She said that when she became chief minister for the first time in 1991, the State police did not have weaponry to combat militancy and terrorism. “Our policemen carried muskets and .303 rifles of Second World War vintage. On the other hand, the militants possessed ultra-modern, sophisticated fire-arms for which our police had no answer.”It was her pioneering efforts, which resulted in the implementation of the Modernisation of Police Force (MPF) Scheme in all states with Central assistance, she asserted.Highlighting the importance of handling the weapons effectively, she said firing had to be precise and accurate so that the terrorist was either gunned down or overpowered, leaving innocent people unharmed. “It is in this context that this competition assumes importance.”Pointing out that the competition was not a mere sporting event, where the “tussle was for medals and trophies and personal glory”, the chief minister said it was “a preparation to equip the police to face hard reality when confronted with terrorism”. Since firing range drills would help nurture shooting skills, she said she ordered the setting up of a firing range at Othivakkam in 2002 by transferring 221.95 acres of land, where the present competition was held.The chief minister said she also proposed to sanction funds for purchase of special firearms like rifles or pistols of .177 or .22 bore, so that the state police could participate in another event, All India Police Sports Shooting Championship, which was held on the pattern of Olympic shooting games.
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