Watch: Mumbai police gets a horse-mounted unit for the first time in 88 years
The mounted unit will consist of 30 trained police officers and horses, and is said to prove useful in situations requiring crowd control.
Regal in stature, Formidable in form, the "Mounted Police Unit" returns to Mumbai Police.
— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) January 19, 2020
Thank you @ManishMalhotra for designing such an elegant uniform for our Riders.
Our Mounted Unit is sure to make a strong impact during law and order situations. pic.twitter.com/S0T6bcvdR9
For the first time since 1932, Mumbai Police will have a mounted unit which will patrol the city on horseback. Owing to growing vehicular traffic, the mounted police force was disbanded in 1932.
According to reports, right now the unit has 13 trained horses, and will eventually have 30 police personnel and horses, trained and equipped with walkie-talkies. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said the Mumbai Police has modern cars and bikes, but “today, it was felt there was need of mounted horse unit for better traffic and crowd control”.
“A cop on a horse can work as much as 30 cops patrolling on road,” said Deshmukh. “The speed of the horse is also important in that case. The unit can be very useful during protests, at beaches, etc.”
In a video premiering the uniform for the new mounted unit (above), fashion designer Manish Malhotra was credited with the outfits. However, the Mumbai Police has stated that the opulent uniform designed by Malhotra would only be used for the Republic Day parade. The actual costume of the police is a different one.
