# Bengal cabinet approves dedicated ATS and anti-narcotics force 2026-08-20T13:09:03+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The West Bengal Cabinet on Thursday approved the creation of a dedicated Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and an Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) to counter terrorism and drug trafficking. The ATS will have 461 regular posts and five contractual positions for digital analysis and cyber surveillance experts. The ANTF will set up four new police stations in Durgapur, Malda, Kharagpur and Nadia, with 591 new posts approved. The cabinet also sanctioned over 1,000 posts across the two units and other security bodies. A rural police outpost in South 24 Parganas and additional posts for the State Commission for Women and the anti-corruption commission were also cleared. The decision follows concerns over organised crime and digital networks used by extremist groups. The government will now begin recruitment and infrastructure development for the forces. ## Indian Opinion Analysis West Bengal had no stand-alone ATS since the state police's special task force handled anti-terror work on an ad-hoc basis. The creation of a dedicated force with permanent posts signals a shift towards institutionalising counter-terror operations. The ANTF's four new stations in industrial and border districts point to specific drug trafficking corridors. The total sanctioned posts of over 1,000 represent a significant addition to the state's police strength, which has been a political flashpoint between the state and central governments. The next step will be the actual recruitment timeline and whether the central agencies will share intelligence with these new units. ## Coverage - indiatoday.in Straight news-agency style reporting, no framing favouring or criticising the government. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Anti-Terrorist Squad, Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal Cabinet Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bengal-cabinet-approves-dedicated-ats-and-anti-narcotics-force/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bengal-cabinet-approves-dedicated-ats-and-anti-narcotics-force/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/