Elite women commandos trained in Pekiti-Tirsia Kali to secure Delhi Metro
A specially trained women commando squad trained in Filipino martial art and capable of neutralising a threat using innocuous objects like pen or hairpin would now patrol coaches and stations of Delhi Metro to ensure safety of passengers, especially women.
A team of 25 young commandos has been trained by the Central security force CISF in Pekiti-Tirsia Kali (PTK), which originated decades ago in Philippines and is a close-quarter unarmed combat skill used to take on multiple opponents at one time by using obscure objects usually worn on the body.
On Friday, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) MD Mangu Singh commissioned the first batch of the highly motivated CISF troops after they finished their 50-day rigorous training which till now has only been imparted to the special units of the Army or NSG commandos. This is the first time such training has been imparted to women security personnel in the country.
The instructors of these specially chosen women who are under 30 years of age said they have been trained to tactically use common objects pen, hairpin, cap, belt, shoelaces, keys and sandals as deadly weapons to take on rogue elements. Singh also announced a cash prize of `50,000 for the batch. The PTK technique is used to train commando units and Special Forces in 60 countries.
“These women have been given training in this special martial art as this ensures less harm to the suspect and he or she is neutralised quickly. In sensitive cases, we need the suspect alive so that he can be interrogated for further leads. These women personnel would patrol Metro stations and coaches,” said HV Chaturvedi, CISF Inspector General (North).