The Special Operation Group (SOG) is a

police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained and equipped to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. The tasks of a ...

that specialized in quick response to emergencies with SWAT unit tactics especially in mountainous forest areas. It was raised by the

Odisha Police The Odisha Police, abbreviated either as OP or OPS, is the law enforcement agency for the state of Odisha in India. It is headquartered in Cuttack, the former capital of Odisha. The Odisha Police is headed by a Director General of Police, curr ...

(OP) to combat the left-wing extremists in the state. The unit's missions primarily involve anti-irregular military, apprehension of armed and dangerous criminals, counterterrorism and hostage rescue crisis management, counterinsurgency, executive protection, high-risk tactical law enforcement situations, HUMINT, operating in difficult to access terrain, protecting high-level meeting areas, providing security in areas at risk of attack or terrorism in

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

, special reconnaissance in difficult to access and dangerous areas, support crowd control and riot control, and special operations. The SOG has been very successful in counterinsurgency in the form of jungle and mountain warfare in controlling violence by armed guerillas of the Left Wing extremist groups, more popularly called 'Naxalites' in India. SOG Odisha

Mission

The SOG was formed in August 2004 in the pattern of Greyhound of Andhra Pradesh with the main objective of neutralising the Naxalites and operating in difficult to access terrain.

Organisation

Headquarters

*Odisha State Police Headquarters,

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...

*Odisha Special Intelligence Wing (SIW),

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

The Special Operation Group has its Training-cum-resource centre at Chandaka in Bhubaneswar. They have a staff strength of about 1800 commandos, constituted into teams of 20-25 commandos. Each unit is self-reliant and can operate combat patrol deep inside jungle and mountain for days in search of armed extremists. The teams of SOG operate either in single team or in multiple teams depending on the scale of the operation launched. They carry the insignia of tusker and call themselves 'Kalinga Tuskers', though the use of the name 'Kalinga Tusker' is not very well known. Their motto is 'kalingaha sahasika', which translates roughly as 'people of Kalinga are brave.'. Kalinga is the ancient name of Odisha.

Training

Before the SOG created its own Training-cum-resource centre, police personnel from Odisha were trained outside the state with other Police and Security forces. The first batch of basic training was conducted at the new training centre in 2008. The training of the SOG Commandoes include physical conditioning, obstacle training, map reading, tactics and extensive training in the use of weapons, including timed fire. The basic course conducted by SOG is considered one of the toughest Commando training programme in India. Recruitment in the force is not direct, the personnel are drawn from Civil Police, Odisha Special Armed Police Battalions and Indian Reserve (IR) Battalions.https://odishapolice.gov.in/sites/default/files/PDF/PCO-375.PDF Personnel are selected through an intensive process. The maximum age of the Commandoes can be 35 years.

Honours

Notes

References

{{Law enforcement agencies of India Non-military counterterrorist organizations Non-military counterinsurgency organizations Odisha Police Counterterrorism in India Specialist law enforcement agencies of India 2004 establishments in Orissa Government agencies established in 2004