THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A mock drill will be jointly conducted by Kerala Police and NSG (National Security Guard) in the state capital for three days.

Six locations have been identified for mock drills, including the new mall in the capital. 400 NSG commandos reached the capital from Delhi. The mock drill is to learn how the police respond to an attack like a terrorist attack or blast, how quickly they reach the spot, how they defend themselves until the central forces arrive, and how they communicate with the central forces.

The NSG team reached Kerala a week ago and conducted security checks in various cities. After that, the sites were selected for the mock drill.

Yesterday, top officials of NSG reached the police headquarters and held a meeting with DGP Anil Kant. The NSG's 'operation' will be after creating the impression of explosions and terrorist attacks in places including shopping malls. After the hours-long 'operation', the NSG will report the security lapses to the police. The police should correct these errors and submit a report to the central government. The purpose of the mock drill is to assess the security of places declared as high security centres.

The capital is a strategic border with space research and the command of the Army and Air Forces. Sri Lanka is only 380.19 km from Thiruvananthapuram. The increasing presence of Chinese forces there is a headache for India.

In 2015, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval visited Thiruvananthapuram shortly after Pakistan's Army chief arrived at the Sri Lankan Army Headquarters in Colombo. Maldives, which is closely connected with Pakistan, is only three and a half hours away by air.