“Our country needs pro-active awareness and training from the grass-root level. Our people, staff and society itself is the first line defense by being aware & provide constructive surveillance & be prepared in any kind of crisis management, hostage evacuation or to dodge terror hostage takeover like Mumbai 26/11.

Vicky Kapoor”

Indian Express Newspaper

Sweta Dutta

Posted: Dec 07, 2008 at 0309 hrs IST

New Delhi Hotels give staff combat training

Following the Mumbai terror nightmare, several hotels and corporate houses in the Capital are training staff to deal with hostage situations and bomb blasts. A city-based tactical and combat training institute has been flooded with calls for training modules post 26/11.

The training institute, Ultimate Tactical and Combat Pvt Ltd in Saket, claims three five-star hotels and as many prominent BPO firms have hired its services to train staff.

“Beefing up security arrangements will not help, so a number of hotels and corporate houses which are potential targets nowadays are gearing up to face threats by training their staff on coping with blasts and hostage situations,” said Vicky Kapoor, managing director and chief instructor of the training institute. The five-star hotels are based in Central Delhi. Right from the basics of first-aid and fire fighting to minimising blast impact, the module has it all.

“Even if the staff is unarmed, they can dodge terrorists just by using certain tactics. Usually when terrorists strike, they are know they may not survive and so try to kill as many people as they can. The psyche of the terrorist is analysed in detail,” explained Kapoor.

“While the impact of blasts can be minimised by opening up all air flow inlets, the key to dealing with hostage situations lies in predicting the terrorist’s next move. Hostages are usually huddled together or locked up in a room or tied up. So in the beginning, we teach trainees to fight,” Kapoor added.

The module also trains hotel staff to deal with panicky guests and the injured. “First aid is crucial an can save lives. Several people die because they are not lifted in the right manner after sustaining injuries,” he said.

Batches of 50 are taken in and mock sessions are held for the entire team to work in tandem. “It is difficult to train the entire staff at one go as hotels have to cater to guests. So we arrange the training in shifts. Once it is over, mock sessions are conducted,” Kapoor told the Newsline.

The training institute has tie-ups with two Israeli training schools, International Security Academy and International Kravmaga Federation, both of which specialise in tactical combating with suicide bombers and hostage situations.

Several other MNCs and five-star hotel chains in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai have also hired the services of the training institute, authorities said.

Source: Indian Express