CISF roped in for Parliament security after Dec 13 security breach
CISF currently guards many central government ministry buildings, civil airports and the Delhi Metro.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will take over the “comprehensive security” of the new Parliament building complex following the recent security breach on December 13, news agency PTI reported. The Union home ministry on Wednesday directed for a survey of the Parliament building complex so that a "regular deployment of the CISF security and fire wing on a comprehensive pattern" could be done, PTI reported.
CISF is a central armed police force that currently is responsible for the security of many central government ministry buildings, apart from installations in the nuclear and aerospace domain, civil airports and the Delhi Metro.
Experts drawn from the government building security unit of the CISF that guards central government ministries, and fire combat and response officers of the force along with officials from the current Parliament security team will undertake the survey beginning later this week, the PTI report said.
Two men Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D dived into the Lok Sabha when the lower house was in session. they sprayed yellow smoke inside the Lok Sabha from canisters that they hid inside their shoes. They were caught by the MPs who sprung into action, but questions were raised over the security loopholes as to how could they jump inside from the visitors' gallery.
Both the new and the old Parliament complex and their allied buildings will be brought under a comprehensive security cover of the CISF which will also have the existing elements of the Parliament Security Service (PSS), the Delhi Police and the Parliament Duty Group (PDG) of the CRPF, the PTI report said.
The security breach incident that took place on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack exposed the security loopholes of the Parliament complex. The two intruders had entry passes signed by BJP MP Prarap Simha whose office asserted that many people approach them for entry passes. Manoranjan D, one of the accused, was one to have got the entry pass from the BJP MP's office.
Early this year, the accused conducted a recce of the old Parliament building and found out that shoes were not checked before allowing entry -- a security gap that intruders cashed in on as shoes were not checked in the new building either.
(With agency inputs)