Chennai, The Avadi police commissionorate in Tamil Nadu will be providing unarmed combat training to a select group of women cops under a pilot project. A special team of women cops has been created for this under the Avadi commissionorate to be trained in unarmed combat techniques for effecting arrests of criminals without causing any harm to the accused.

The Special Action Group of the Avadi Commissionerate will be trained in defensive techniques in Judo, Aikido, and Jujutsu -- all martial arts forms.

The police are implementing this following some information on using disproportionate force against suspects while arresting them. Additional Director General of Police and Avadi Police commissioner, Sandeep Rai Rathore is the brain behind this move.

Sources in the Avadi police commissionerate told IANS that the commissioner wanted a change from the traditional methods of using lathi and that the techniques deployed to arrest the suspect were causing physical harm to the suspects.

While speaking to IANS, the commissioner said, "In some cases, the techniques we deploy to arrest the suspects are slightly old and the perpetrators are being harmed. So we thought of using techniques that are more humane and less harmful to persons perpetrating the crime. This led to studies on various martial arts that are deployed in some places that could be effectively used without harming the suspects."

A 25-member woman team created for the purpose is under strict regime of fitness and dieting and then they are now being trained in the martial arts.

If the project proves successful, it will be implemented in more police stations across Tamil Nadu, in a bid to inflict less damage to the accused while taking them into custody.