Puri: A two-day joint coastal security exercise, ‘Sagar Kavach-26’, commenced at the Chandrabhaga coast on Wednesday to bolster surveillance and preparedness against potential terrorist threats along Odisha’s shoreline.
The exercise, conducted under the jurisdiction of the Chandrabhaga Marine Police Station, involves coordinated participation from the Odisha Police, the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy.
As part of the drill, a “Red Force” simulated a terrorist infiltration scenario, with personnel posing as disguised militants arriving via sea route from Paradip, equipped with modern weapons and tasked with executing a mock operation.
To counter the simulated threat, the Puri district police, designated as the “Blue Force”, maintained heightened vigilance along the coast under the leadership of Chandrabhaga Marine Police Station Officer Saraswati Sahu.
During the exercise, two mock terrorists entered a private resort near the Ramchandi estuary around noon and attempted to take control of the premises by holding two staff members hostage. Acting swiftly, the alert Blue Force personnel apprehended the intruders before the situation could escalate.
The detained individuals were later taken to the Chandrabhaga Police Station, where interrogation revealed them to be constables of the 8th Battalion — Raghunath Patra and Krishna Pradhan — who were part of the exercise.
According to officials, the duo had travelled by bus from Chatrapur in Ganjam district to Puri and then proceeded towards Ramchandi, alighting near the targeted location before moving in.
Security personnel recovered two dummy bombs, one AK-47 rifle and a revolver from their possession as part of the simulation. Following the completion of the drill procedures and investigation, the two were released.
Officials said such exercises are conducted annually to test inter-agency coordination, response time and coastal security mechanisms in the face of evolving maritime threats.
