| Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | OCTOPUS |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1 October, 2007 |
| Employees | 1700[1] |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Andhra Pradesh &Telangana, India |
| General nature | |
| Specialist jurisdiction |
|
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Khalsa Ibrahimpatnam Village,Hyderabad,India |
TheOrganisation for Counter Terrorist Operations (OCTOPUS) is an elitecounter terrorism joint unit of theAndhra Pradesh Police in the state ofAndhra Pradesh & and theTelangana Police in the state ofTelangana inIndia.[1][2]
On 1 October 2007, the Andhra Pradesh cabinet approved the formation of OCTOPUS.[3]
OCTOPUS Commando Training Center was inaugurated on 13 August 2012, Andhra Pradesh Chief MinisterNallari Kiran Kumar Reddy at Khalsa Ibrahimpatnam Village near Hyderabad, with 570 acres land area. Before this, they had been based at a makeshift headquarters.[4][1]
The commandos are trained in handling sophisticated weapons such asGlock-19 pistols,Colt 9mm SMG,Franchi SPAS-15 dual mode shotguns, sniper rifles,taser guns andcorner shot systems.
On 16 November 2012, tenders were invited for the supply of a samplejet pack unit to the OCTOPUS. Plans have been made to acquire more jetpacks in the future.[6][7]
About 100 OCTOPUS personnel have been deployed at theTirumala Venkateswara temple to oversee the temple security.[4][1]
Of the 1590 commandos for the OCTOPUS, the force was divided on the basis of options exercised by the staff[9]