G20 Summit: 7-tier security cordon around fortress ITPO

Around 10,000 security personnel, including commandos are part of the cordon, which also includes teams monitoring hundreds of CCTV cameras

An unprecedented seven-tier security cordon, manned by the Delhi Police, the National Security Guard (NGS), the Indian Army, and other forces, will be thrown around the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) Complex in Pragati Maidan, the main venue for G20 Summit from Friday, turning the venue into a fortress.

Security personnel along with a sniffer dog outside Bharat Mandapam ahead of G20 Summit on Thursday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

Around 10,000 security personnel, including commandos are part of the cordon, which also includes teams monitoring hundreds of CCTV cameras, and others vested with sophisticated equipment to thwart any untoward contingency, police officers familiar with the plan said.

The trained officers and commandos of the Delhi Police will be the first layer of the security cordon. Officers of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will be the seventh layer, equipped to counter chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear (CBRN) threats. Trained and armed officers of the Army and Navy, the National Security Guard, the Border Security Force and other armed forces will form the middle layers of the cordon, the officers added, asking not to be identified.

The security protocol for the venue — the event will happen at the International Exhibition and Convention Centre or IECC, called the Bharat Mandapam — also includes safe houses and helicopters on stand-by.

“At least five safe houses that are safe from missile and other types of attack have also been created at strategic locations within the ITPO complex to shelter and shield VVIP foreign guests who will be participating in the G20 Summit on September 9 and 10. A helipad has also been prepared on the campus to airlift Indian as well as foreign dignitaries in case of any contingency. The safety and security of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be taken care of by the Special Protection Group (SPG),” one of the officers said.

According to the officers, delegates will go through a security screening at their respective hotels before they proceed to the main venue. Their vehicles will reach the designated place of arrival where they will be welcomed and received by the hosts. The vehicles will then be parked at the earmarked parking slots.

The entire ITPO Complex has been divided into 17 zones and 23 sectors, each headed by an officer not below the rank of deputy commissioner of police (DCP). Special commissioner of police (G20) RS Krishnia has been made the venue commander of the ITPO Complex. He will be assisted by joint commissioner of police (vigilance) OP Mishra, and three additional commissioners of police (additional CPs) Romil Baniya, Ashok Malik and Deepak Purohit.

The three additional CPs have separately been made in charge of security, law and order, and traffic in and around the ITPO Complex. There are 15 sectors under each security in-charge and each sector is headed by a DCP rank officer. The law and order in-charge will have four DCPs monitoring one sector each, while the traffic zone has been divided into three sectors, which is also headed by as many DCPs. Of the nearly 10,000 security personnel, 6,500 will be from Delhi Police, the first officer said.

“There are three temporary control rooms created at the main venue. In case one of them is compromised, the other two will take over. If all three are under attack, the central control and command room available at the Delhi Police headquarters will take over the emergency situation. In the central command and control room, officers of NSG, SPG, Army, and intelligence agencies will also share seats with Delhi Police personnel,” the officer added.

A second officer said the entire ITPO Complex was handed over to the Delhi Police immediately after Independence Day celebrations on August 15. All known as well as unknown tunnels, drainage system, sewer lines, potted plants, water supply pipes, small and big rooms and halls, and basements of the buildings are being scanned and sanitised regularly, and they have been earmarked.

“High-rise buildings, houses, temples, and other structures around the main G20 summit venue have been checked. Trained snipers will be positioned on various high rise buildings, including the Supreme Court of India, to monitor suspicious activities and movement of suspects,” said the second officer.