MP News: Of 55 Districts, Only 17 Ready With Bomb Disposal Units, Says Police

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Of the 55 districts in Madhya Pradesh, 17 have a functional bomb deduction and disposal squads (BDDS), IG (Intelligence) Anshuman Singh told the Free Press on Thursday.

On Wednesday morning, four members of a BDDS team died after their vehicle collided with a truck in Sagar. The team was coming from Balaghat district and was on its way to its headquarters in Morena.

According to police officials, BDDS teams move frequently between districts. Each bomb disposal squad comprises 10-12 police personnel. The team might also include sniffer dogs and their handlers if the need arises.

Whenever a bomb disposal squad is needed in an adjoining district, half of the staff remains with the half of the equipment, and the rest moves to the other district with the remaining equipment.

In case of VVIP duties or emergencies, the squads are often divided into two teams and sent to different districts, officials said. According to officials, if a Prime Minister or Union Minister visits a district, at least 10-12 BDDS teams are deployed to secure the area.

While 10 of these teams are present in all divisional and district headquarters, the remaining seven teams are deployed in other districts.

Balaghat eyes more BDDS teams

The Left Wing Extremism-affected Balaghat district has its own bomb disposal squad, but it needs two more squads to combat the rising cases of extremism, officials said.

The squads of different districts are deployed on a rotation to ensure ample security in Balaghat district.

Proposal to deploy more BDDS units in MP: IG Intelligence

IG (Intelligence) Anshuman Singh told Free Press that a proposal has been prepared to increase the BDDS units in the state by the police headquarters. He said that the police headquarters is planning to deploy one squad for each major district once the proposal is finalized.