- The central government has given an instruction to that VIPs protection will be carried out by the CISF, says its Director General O P Singh.
- The CISF has envisaged installing express checking counters at major airports to shorten the time taken for checking
- The CISF is also extending security cover for private firms.
The VIPs in the country would soon come under the security cover of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), said CISF Director General O P Singh on Friday.
“The central government has given an instruction that VIPs protection will be carried out by the CISF. Probably, we will be taking all the security of the VIPs, who are now being guarded by the CRPF and other agencies, very soon,” he said during a press conference after the passing out parade of the first batch of the lady constables at the Regional Training Centre of the CISF at Thakkolam in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu.
Stating that six training centres of the paramilitary force had been concentrating on aviation security, he said they had proposed to the central government to upgrade the RTC at Thakkolam as a centre for the excellence of aviation security.
He said the CISF is a tech-savvy and very promising force. Since its inception 48 years ago, it has gone ahead of all other forces. It has been manning 59 airports, besides having its presence in almost in all the vital installations such as seaports, atomic energy stations, oil fields, mining industries, heavy machinery industries and space installations.
The CISF is also extending security cover for private firms. “We generated revenue of Rs 2.54 crore by providing security cover to private firms this year,” he said.
It had brought down incidents of pilferage and theft of resources in public sectors such as mining and oil firms, he said.
“The CISF has its own technological advancements. Its deployment in seaports and airports needs massive installations. We will install body scanners in certain airports very soon,” he said.
The CISF has envisaged installing express checking counters at major airports to shorten the time taken for checking. Passengers with handbags would be allowed to use the express checking counters. It would reduce the congestion in the airports and allow the passengers to reach boarding points easily, he said.
Citing the killing of a student in Gurgaon, he said two schools had responded positively to the CISF’s proposal to provide consultations on security arrangement to ensure the safety of the students. “We have sent letters to major schools across the country. If they are interested, we will provide them security consultation,” he said.
The CISF is also in the forefront in achieving the government’s vision of 33% female workforce, he said. About 3.56% of its 1.80 lakh personnel are women. It has 6,000 lady constables and officers.
He said terror attacks were the biggest challenges faced by the CISF.
