In a bid to ensure adequate protection to the prestigious Delhi Metro rail project which is considered a "soft" target of terrorists, the Centre on Monday decided to have a separate security force for it.
As part of the three-layered security plan, 3,000 personnel will be engaged for a specialised security force equipped with modern gadgets and trained in anti-sabotage and anti-terrorist operations, official sources said.
The decision to set up the dedicated force for the Metro was taken at a meeting chaired by Home Minister Shivraj Patil in New Delhi on Monday.
The meeting was attended by Home Secretary VK Duggal, DMRC chief E Sreedharan, Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry KS Sugathan, DG CISF SIS Ahmed and Delhi Police Commissioner KK Paul.
The bomb blasts in the London Underground train network last year, which killed a large number of people, was one of the factors that shaped the government's security plan for the Delhi Metro.
The security plan has been prepared by the CISF with the main focus on preventing smuggling of explosives by anti-national elements in the Delhi Metro.
{{/usCountry}}The security plan has been prepared by the CISF with the main focus on preventing smuggling of explosives by anti-national elements in the Delhi Metro.
{{/usCountry}}Being modelled on the lines of the National Security Guards and the Special Protection Group which provides security to the Prime Minister, former Prime Ministers and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her family members, the force would require an expenditure of Rs 40 crore per year, the sources said.