The introduction of this component assumes importance in view of the two recent attempts on the life of former mayor Milind Vaidya, despite the fact that he was escorted by two bodyguards.

Joint commissioner of police Dr P S Pasricha admitted the new function had been added to commando training due to the ``changing scenario in crime.'' The syllabus is always updated to make policemen more effective, Pasricha added.

Colonel M P `Chou' Choudhary, who is currently training commandos at the Marol police training centre, said the trainees will first have to undergo arduous tests for mental and physical toughness. The tests, which include gruelling unarmed combat exercises and firing, will last for 12 hours every day for aperiod of six weeks. Significantly, the volunteers are being trained to function as `buddy pairs,' Choudhary pointed out.

``Maybe only 100 out of 150 volunteers from this batch, including 17 women, may survive the tough training. Dropouts have been high in the earlier six batches too, and only 60 percent of the trainees finally emerge as police commandos,'' Col Choudhary pointed out.

After training in use of arms and reflex shooting, the trainees will get to know how to escort a VIP, he said. The commandos will be taught unconventional ways of taking preventive measures. For example, they'll be taught how to protect a target when the target is held up in a traffic jam, or when he is negotiating a curve or leaving or entering office, Choudhary noted.

``An escort has never been known to get off a VIP's vehicle when it is caught in a traffic snarl. But we may soon see armed commandos covering their targets amid traffic jams in the city to prevent an attack,'' a senior police officer said. ``In fact, Vaidyawas made a `sitting target' when his car was caught in a jam at Bandra, and the bodyguard sat helplessly beside him,'' the officer added.

The officer said the attack at Vaidya's Mahim residence on the night of March 4, in which three persons were killed, could have been averted if the escorts were trained and alert during vulnerable hours. With a quicker reflex action the bodyguards could not only have thwarted the attack but also killed the assailants in a counter-attack, he maintained.

According to police sources, the commandos are also being introduced to the technique of gathering information and turning it into an intelligence report. They are also being imparted training in the use of gas guns and defusing of grenades.