Mumbai-based inspector who mastered Hostage Negotiation and Crisis Management post 26/11 attacks

As the Mumbai Police did not have any counsellors during the 26/11 attack, post the incident, Mumbai-based Shalini Sharma was sent to London with a team to 14 people to learn Hostage Negotiation and Crisis Management.

Mumbai-based inspector who mastered Hostage Negotiation and Crisis Management post 26/11 attacks
SHARES

On the anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we look back at one of the major changes that ensued post the terror attacks in the city.

The Mumbai Police back in 2008 did not have any counsellors present in the force. This was especially problematic as several foreign nationals were held hostage by terrorists during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. However, currently, the Mumbai Police has an army of counsellors.

The terror attack had killed over 166 people which included foreign nationals in an attack that lasted for four days. The 26/11 attack as a result has transformed India's outlook towards national security leading to the strengthening of its maritime surveillance, inter-agency coordination and dissemination of information.

As several foreign nationals were held hostage during the Mumbai attacks, the aim was for Mumbai Police to have at least one police counsellor in each police station. Moreover, one of the teams was sent abroad for counselling training. This enabled the officers to handle a situation efficiently by intervening in an emergency situation.

However, post the 26/11 incident, Mumbai-based Shalini Sharma has been the go-to woman for Mumbai Police every time when faced with a sticky situation. Sharma had learned Hostage Negotiation and Crisis Management post the terror attacks. Pushed by the then Director-General Himanshu Roy, 14 members led by Sharma were chosen to go to London and learn tactical skills from Scotland Yard under their commissioner Paul Stephenson in 2010. Ever since she returned, even though there has been no hostage situation, her services have been proven helpful in pushing back people who were on the brink of killing themselves.  

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