Jammu and Kashmir Police
Special Operations Group (SOG) THREAD ↓

HQ - District Police HQ
Strength - 1000/1200
Estb - Dec 1994 / Jan 1995

Much awaited thread is finally here

Before we dive-in, I'd like to thank a JKP officer who chooses to remain anonymous. He took the pain of explaining the functioning of SOG to me. Interestingly, he has been conferred with a Gallantry Medal for leading SOG teams and gunning down terrorists.
Thank you

Before we dive in further, we remember the following IPS officers who had an instrumental role in raising & rearing SOG.
Name are as follows -
PS Gill
SM Sahai
MN Sabharwal
Gurbachan Jagat
K Rajendra
Ashok Bhan

Not to forget the DIGs & SPs who lead SOG teams into encounters

BACKGROUND -
It was 1993, things were pretty terrible within JKP. Police top brass had given up on the lower ranks, terrorists had a free run in the valley. They were running amok. JKP had mutinied, once
At the same time IA & BSF were desperately looking to "outsource" deployment

...in order to reduce casualties & deployment costs.
June 1994, then SSP Srinagar Farooq Khan got an input of a terrorist meeting in one of the localities of Srinagar. On a normal day the input would've been ignored just like the numerous inputs of terrorists' activities but....

SSP Khan decided to act on the input. With 3 Sub-Inspectors & 3 PSOs he set-off to bust the meeting. As Khan raided the area, terrorists took note of the police, ignored them & continued with their meeting. This time they ran out of luck as Khan had made his mind to arrest them.

Arrested, while bringing them back, Khan & party decided not to take them to the Police Stn, instead took them to Khan's house. This Operation made Khan realise how efficient Intelligence led ops are, slowly Khan's house turned into an OPS ROOM and they followed this pattern

Then Director General of Police MN Sabharwal took note of these ops. The top brass decided to implement Khan's model in other parts of Kashmir. Hence, in December of 1994, SOG was set-up in all Disct of J&K with it's HQ in Sringar.

Their Sringar office was set-up in an old Cargo building earlier owned by Air India. Air India moved out in mid '94 & SOG shifted-in in Dec same year.

Thats why SOG Sringar is sometimes refered to as "CARGO"

FORCE & ETHNIC COMPOSITION
In the intial days, the force comprised of volunteer police officers & some surrendered terrorists. Young men from all ethnic groups of Kashmir were taken in like Kashmiris, Gujjars, Dogras and Sikhs. The first batch of SOG had a strength of 45 men

Results started to crop soon after the establishment of SOG. Terror incidents came down from 139 in 1996 to 68 in 1997.
The first formal ops for SOG in high altitude area was on 18 April, 1997 in Gandoh Area of Doda.

CURRENT SET UP
• All Districts of J&K have SOG teams
• They are housed in camps, normal camps have 25/30 SOG, big camps have 50/60, it largely depends upon the size of the Disct & vulnerability
• Disct has a min of 3/4 SOG Camps
• Every Disct has a min of 100 SOG,more in Kash

COMMAND STRUCTURE -
Disct SP → AdSP → DySP (Ops) → Camp Incharge (no standardization)

Camp Incharge can be of the rank of Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors & Head Constables

INTELLIGENCE - All Discts have Electronic Intelligence Units (all thanks to Atul Goel IPS) which gathers Technical Intelligence and passes on to SOG for ops. These units are headed by Inspectors or Sub-Inspectors.

Other surveillance units in SOG handle Human Intelligence

SUPPORT ELEMENTS - Every Disct also houses a -
K-9 team
Bomb Detection & Disposal Squad
Anti-Sabotage Unit

These units work independently and support SOG in their ops, they report directly to the Disct SP.

SOG TEAM BREAK-UP -
1 Sub-Inspector
2 Assistant Sub-Inspectors
4/5 Head Constables
20/30 Constables
20/30 Special Police Officers

TRAINING - NO FORMAL TRAINING ! Most of the training on ground, called OJT (on the job training). Although SOG men are sent for various courses in Commando Tactics, IED Disposal and others to NSG Trg HQ Manesar & other Trg centres of Army.

Surprising, isn't it ? One of the best CI/CT force in India, the most battle hardened policemen in the country don't even have formal training

INCENTIVE - No allowances for SOG men as entire JKP gets 10% extra as Hardship Allowance.

Other incentives are offered like -
• Gallantry Medals (they truly deserve)
• Out of turn promotions
• Conversion from SPO to Constable
• Cash Rewards

WEAPONS -
1. AK
2. AK
3. AK
4. AK

Although their inventory has Carl Gustav, Excalibur, Glocks pistol but no other rifle apart from variants of AK-47 are preferred, Grenades are used sometimes.

VEHICLES -
Mahindra Rakshak
Mahindra BP Scorpio
Maruti BP Gypsy
Ashok Leyland MBPV
Tata BP 407

Before ending the thread,
Thoughts and prayers with the families of 1650 JKP personnel who laid down their lives. And a vote of thanks to all JKP personnel who are fighting a nasty war on their own soil.

I guess Im done for the day.
Cheers !