New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh is contemplating raising a commando force for guarding important cities and key installations in the wake of the Mumbai terror strikes.

This was stated by Chief Minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy at the Chief Minister's Conference on internal security here today.

The state is also planning to enact a law on security of public places, making it mandatory to all corporate houses, malls and theatres to create their security infrastructure and access control, he said.

He said the state was fully geared to tackle the terrorist threat in terms of updated systems and infrastructure for intelligence gathering and nullify the terrorist modules.

A new organisation called OCTOPUS (Organisation for Counter Terrorism Operations) has been set up and efforts are on to add 37,000 police personnel in order to beef up security, Reddy said.

Noting that six marine police stations have been established, the Chief Minister asked the Centre to sanction 14 more such stations and emphasised the need for equipping them with sufficient infrastructure like speed boats and deep sea equipment. Each police station would cover 50 km coastline in the state, he said.

Reddy also said security agencies were being trained for better security of places like temples, transport and railways.
Source : PTI