Visakhapatnam: The National Security Guard (NSG) carried out a counter terrorist (CT) exercise for four days in Visakhapatnam. As part of it, a series of counter terrorist mock drills were conducted at multiple locations till Thursday.

Vulnerable and key target locations such as Visakhapatnam Port, Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited, Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) were identified for simulating realistic and dynamic counter terrorist threat scenarios.

The primary objective of the exercise was to foster coordinated actions and enhance operational synergy among various stakeholders, first responders and NSG, thereby improving the ability to address and combat emerging CT threats.

The exercise was conducted in coordination with state civil administration, OCTOPUS of AP police, Visakhapatnam traffic police, Visakhapatnam fire services and government medical department in order to rehearse and streamline necessary drills, procedure to enhance coordination among various entities and responders to deal with a terrorist incident. The counter terrorist exercise primarily focused on rehearsing and executing counter terror, hostage rescue and counter IED operations in urban scenarios.

The platform will significantly strengthen the collaborative capabilities of the NSG, OCTOPUS and Andhra Pradesh state police/ administration, enabling a more robust and effective response to counter terror threats, ensuring safety of the public in times of crisis.

Meanwhile, during the mock drill held at BDL, vehicular movement was restricted. B Surendra Varma from Duvvada was passing through the area in his two-wheeler along with his wife and two children. His bike was stopped along with other vehicles due to vehicular restriction. When he was waiting, a part of the explosive used for the drill hit his hand and later his eight-year-old daughter’s face. As the girl sustained injuries, she was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.