THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Crime Squads, which were dismissed for taking innocent people to custody and mercilessly torturing them, is returning to the police force. These squads will be making a comeback under the new name 'Special Action Group'. The aim is to prevent crime and catch criminals quickly.

Most of the crime squads had been notorious for taking anyone into custody without informing even the local police, locking them at secret camps and torturing the person, all this with the silent permission of higher officials. They, who used to have unholy nexus with quotation teams, have been a challenge to the law and order situation in the State.

The most infamous squad among these was the 'Rural Tiger Force' formed by the then Ernakulam Rural SP AV George. This squad comprised 22 policemen from the Armed Battalion. The members of this squad were named accused in the Varappuzha custodial death case. AV George, the head of the squad, was given a clean chit and was then promoted to DIG. He went on to become Kozhikode City Police Commissioner.

It has been alleged that certain top officers used these squads to hush up cases. The squads consisted of policemen from A R camp.

DySPs and CIs used to have squads. Following the custodial death in Thiruvananthapuram Fort police station, the government had ordered the dismantling of all crime squads in 2005. Nevertheless, it existed in other forms such as Shadow Squad, Special Squad, Striker Team, Gunda Squad and Anti-Narcotic Squad.,
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In 2010, the then DGP Jacob Punnoose ordered that there was no need for special squads. With the Varappuzha custody death case in 2018, all squads were dismantled.