Police officials inspect an armoured vehicle in Bathinda on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Pawan sharma

Varinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda/Faridkot, June 14

The Punjab Police have come out with 16 bulletproof combat vehicles to counter gangsters during encounters.These specially designed, light armoured vehicles based on the Mahindra Scorpio platform and branded as ‘Scorpio Rakshak Plus’ have been stationed at sensitive points in districts on the Indo-Pak border, districts bordering Haryana and Rajasthan and in the Commissionerates of Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Amritsar.The plan to purchase these was conceived by the state police after the Dinanagar terror attack when they had to requisition such vehicles from Jammu and Kashmir. But the project has seen the light of day during the incumbent Congress government.“We have got a bullet-proof ‘Scorpio Rakshak Plus’ today. It not only has bulletproof steel shells but also bulletproof glasses with holes for firing from inside the vehicle. There is an opening in the top to mount and operate a light machine gun (LMG),” said Bathinda SSP Navin Singla.MS Chhina, IG, Bathinda zone, said the vehicles would be useful in Bathinda, Mansa, Faridkot, Fazilka and Ferozepur districts, which shared borders with Haryana and Rajasthan and also for police officials deployed in districts along the Indo-Pak border where drug smugglers were active.ADGP (Law and Order) Rohit Chaudhary said these 16 ‘moving bunkers’ have been allocated to border districts and important cities like Bathinda, Jalandhar and Mohali. “Our troops will be ready with minimum response time to tackle any armed conflict with gangsters and other outlaws,” he said.