Retired Army officer appointed as security adviser to Punjab Police

The Punjab government has appointed retired Army officer Brig Gautam Ganguly as Security Adviser (Training & Operations) in the rank and pay of deputy inspector general in the state police for three years.

The appointment was made to further strengthen the Special Operations Group (SoG) of the Punjab Police with improved training and equipping skills, an official spokesperson of the police department said on Tuesday.

Ganguly has served more than 33 years in the armed forces, including four years as the NSG force commander handling counter-terror and anti-hijacking operations.

He had also conducted numerous operational deployments in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat, including execution of Operation Dhangu Suraksha (attack on Pathankot IAF Base), the official said.

The retired brigadier has specialised in the training of special forces and has been involved in many capacity building programmes.

His vast operational expertise would benefit the operations and training of the SoG, the counter-terror force of Punjab, the spokesperson said.

The main objective of the SoG was to counter the efforts of Pakistan to intensify the terrorist offensive in Punjab through a series of targeted killings in 2016 and 2017.

Ganguly is expected to lead the operations and raids, besides handling hostage situations, along with other senior officers and personnel of the force.

Apart from this, he will be entrusted with the responsibility of training, equipping and orienting the SoG to counter the various challenges posed by state-sponsored terrorism emanating from across the border, the official added.

The newly appointed security adviser would also be involved in the training of the state armed police battalions, the anti-riot police, and other specialised units of the Punjab Police, undertaking extensive and qualitative training of the bomb disposal and the K9 (canine) squads of the state police, said the spokesperson.