BHUBANESWAR: Commissionerate police have decided to deploy its Special Tactical Unit (STU), a force specifically trained to counter urban terrorism to tackle incidents of mob violence. The move comes after the recent Balianta lynching, where a railway constable was beaten to death by a mob in the presence of police personnel following allegations of attempted rape against him.The incident exposed glaring lapses in crowd control and drew sharp public outrage. The incident prompted chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi to instruct the state police to strengthen their capacity for tackling mob violence and ensure such tragedies are not repeated.On Thursday, senior officials briefed STU commandos, sensitising them to the dynamics of mob violence and stressing the need for restraint. “We will hold special training sessions for STU commandos on handling mob violence. They will be stationed in police control room vehicles and dispatched swiftly to areas where crowds turn violent,” a senior officer said.Raised in 2013 and modelled on the elite National Security Guard (NSG), the STU comprises commandos from the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Odisha police. They are trained in ambush tactics, guerrilla warfare, hostage rescue and sniper support, skills now being adapted to crowd-control scenarios.Meanwhile, the commissionerate police are finalising a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for local personnel, who are often the first responders. “We have already conducted mock drills in Cuttack Sadar area. Similar rehearsals will be held in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack,” the officer added.The role of police in preventing mob violence has long been under scrutiny. In Balianta, officers were criticised for standing by as the railway constable Soumya Ranjan Swain was lynched on May 7. A day later, fresh violence erupted in Balipatna after the murder of a local youth, indicating the fragile law and order situation.Experts note that mobs thrive on anonymity and collective impunity. People feel shielded within a crowd, emboldened to commit acts they would never attempt alone. “Police face a dilemma, inaction makes them appear ineffective, but use of force invites backlash. Civil society criticism has discouraged strong interventions, leaving officers hesitant,” said retired DSP SK Swain.
