Maharashtra Police Return 1,430 Faulty Bulletproof Vests

Nearly a decade after 26/11, Maharashtra police finally receive 4600 bulletproof vests – 1,430 of which were faulty.

Out of the 4,600 bulletproof vests received by the Maharashtra Police in the aftermath of the 26/11 terror attacks, 1,430 vests have been returned to the manufacturer after they failed bullet tests from AK-47 rifles during trials. The jackets were made by a Kanpur-based manufacturing company and were tested at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Chandigarh.

“We have kept the 3,000 bulletproof jackets that have passed the trials and returned the rest to the manufacturers. They will have to replace the 1,430 vests with fresh stock that will be taken in only after it passes trials as there can be no compromise on quality,” said a police official. 

For a bulletproof vest to be accepted by the Maharashtra police, the vest must meet the guidelines laid out by the Ministry of Home Affairs. As part of the standard operating procedure, the ballistic trial is conducted first on wet samples by firing an AK-47 Rifle, 7.62 mm SCLR/bolt action rifle and 9 mm Sub Machine gun. The same test is then conducted on dry vests. Police officials told The Quint that while the rejected vests passed the ballistic trial with two guns, it failed the bullet tests from the AK-47 rifles.

The vests were commissioned after the 26/11 attacks and were to be distributed among the Quick Response Team of Mumbai police and Maharshtra’s special counter terrorism unit, Force One. The delay in procuring the jackets however, was caused due to the State’s inability to find bidders for the tender floated.

We need at least three vendors to send in their quotes to acquire the tender. Initially there were two vendors, so we had to grant extensions. Only once, there were three vendors as per the rule, we zeroed in on the company that would manufacture the bulletproof vests for us.

A police official

The entire consignment of jackets cost the Maharashtra police about Rs 17 crore. While initially the order was placed for 5,000 jackets, after including customs duty and other charges, the number of vests received came down to 4,600 pieces.

Of the 3,000 vests that have been accepted by the Maharashtra police, some of the pieces have already been distributed among the Mumbai police and the Gadchiroli police. The jackets were meant to be used during anti-Maoist operations in and around Gadchiroli district.