Assam's Black Panther police commandos on their passing out parade
At the Saru Sajai Sports Complex in Guwahati, amid hundreds of spectators and dignitaries including Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, a group of young commandos, dressed in their black combat fatigue, armed with the latest close-range, sniper and automatic weapons, rappelled down a rope from a hovering Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) of the Army Aviation Corp for a demo of a tactical exercise.
These commandos may look like from the National Security Guards (NSG) by their tactical move to tackle a hostage situation, but they are the fresh batch of Assam's Black Panthers - the state's very own commando battalions of police force.
It was a historic moment for the Assam Police as the new batch of 2,551 police commandos were inducted.
According to the Assam Police, this was the first time that such a large contingent of any police force in the country were trained by the Indian Army as a part of their commando training course.
"These 2,551 young recruits, who are both sub-inspectors and constables, have been trained for the first time in such a large number by the army... The army trained them with basic training, after which they came to the Lachit Borphukan police academy in Dergaon, where they have got police training," Assam Special DGP Harmeet Singh told reporters.
The groundbreaking parade has drawn attention not only due to the sheer number of personnel trained, but also due to the unique collaboration with the army.
"The most important thing is that they have come out of a transparent recruitment process. The biggest thing was this passing out parade took place in the presence of the Home Minister, who took their salute. It is an honour for the Assam Police and for Assam too since Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also attended," Mr Singh said.