This is the most recent in a series of counterterrorism training efforts between the U.S. and India. The session was conducted with instructors from the US State Department’s Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program and hosted by the Central Detective Training School in Chandigarh.
According to the US Embassy, over the last 16 years, the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security has organized 82 police training courses with Indian law enforcement professionals under the ATA program. This month’s training seminar focused on the use of innovative crime scene investigation techniques to enhance the effectiveness of police investigations. The traing seminar concluded on September 8.
The interactive workshop featured hands-on, practical scenarios that trained mid-level police officials to effectively secure a terrorist crime scene, with a particular focus on digital evidence and methods for exploiting information obtained from terrorists’ computers, USB drives and other electronic media. More than 30 Indian law enforcement officials from federal and state agencies were selected to participate in the program by the MHA’s Bureau of Police Research and Development, including two participants from the newly-formed National Investigative Agency (NIA).
After the training concluded, US Chargé d’Affaires, Ambassador Peter Burleigh remarked, “Terrorist attacks like the September 7 bombing at the New Delhi High Court are a constant reminder of the need for our two democracies to work together in combating the scourge of terrorism. The broad scope of our cooperation extends to the highest levels, such as the recent U.S.-India Homeland Security and Strategic Dialogues, to hands-on joint training sessions and cooperative investigations. The people and government of the United States are working hand-in-hand with India against terrorism, and we will continue to work together to address this global threat to innocent people with practical, timely and effective assistance and cooperation.”