The Special Operation Group[a] (SOG) is a police tactical unit that specialized in quick response to emergencies with SWAT unit tactics especially in mountainous forest areas. It was raised by the Odisha Police (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, special reconnaissance in difficult to access and dangerous areas, support crowd control and riot control, and special operations.
The SOG has been very successful [citation needed] 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.
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.[2]
Odisha Special Intelligence Wing (SIW), Bhubaneswar
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.[3] Personnel are selected through an intensive process. The maximum age of the Commandoes can be 35 years.
