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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Demand rises for CISF cover amid security concerns
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Demand rises for CISF cover amid security concerns

While 135 organizations have already been provided cover, the CISF, a paramilitary force under the home ministry, has got 95 requests for additional security still pending

The CISF—the only revenue-generating paramilitary force in the country– is grappling with a shortage of manpower. Photo: HTPremium
The CISF—the only revenue-generating paramilitary force in the country– is grappling with a shortage of manpower. Photo: HT

New Delhi: Jails and public organizations in India are sparing no efforts to reinforce their security cover in the wake of recent terror strikes and the November escape of terrorist Harminder Mintoo from a jail in Nabha, Punjab.

While 135 organizations have already been provided cover, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), a paramilitary force under the home ministry, has got 95 requests for additional security still pending.

In December, the CISF formulated a security audit report on the Bhopal central jail, from where eight operatives of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (Simi) pulled off a jailbreak in October. The report was submitted to the Madhya Pradesh government with suggestions to boost manpower and technical surveillance at the high-security facility.

The eight who escaped were killed in an alleged shootout—critics called it a staged encounter—by security forces.

“After the jailbreak, alarm bells were ringing. We visited the site and handed over the report to the MP government, which discussed perimeter security and access control in the Bhopal jail premises," said CISF director general O.P. Singh.

“They found it extremely useful and, following the Nabha jailbreak as well, now we have requests to provide security consultancy in Ujjain, Gwalior and Jabalpur jails as well," he added.

At the same time, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) in Delhi, Kharagpur and Patna, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) central office in Mumbai and the Tata Steel Ltd plant in Jamshedpur have also been provided security consultancy and cover by the CISF.

Claridges Hotel in Delhi and the State Bank of India (SBI) headquarters in Mumbai have also sought security cover.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi and the Salarjung Museum in Hyderabad have requested an audit of their fire prevention systems.

“When the CISF gets a consultancy request or a fire audit request, a survey of the premises is conducted and a report is prepared on threat assessment, extent of security required and the number of security personnel that will need to be deployed. The draft recommendation is then prepared and sent to the client, along with the consultancy fee that will be charged. The fee so collected goes to the Consolidated Fund of India," said a senior home ministry official, requesting anonymity.

The CISF—the only revenue-generating paramilitary force in the country– is, meanwhile, grappling with a shortage of manpower, Singh said.

“Several requests are still pending because of a shortage of manpower. We are continuing to do our best regardless of the situation and we will be self-sufficient by the beginning of 2018," Singh added.

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Published: 05 Jan 2017, 12:26 AM IST
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