A committee of MPs, set up to look into the security apparatus in Parliament, has found gaps in the system put in place for the protection of the sensitive complex, with nearly 100 CCTV cameras not functioning, besides other lacuna.
A committee of MPs, set up to look into the security apparatus in Parliament, has found gaps in the system put in place for the protection of the sensitive complex, with nearly 100 CCTV cameras not functioning, besides other lacuna.
The committee, headed by former Union Home Secretary and MP from Bihar R K Singh and comprising former Mumbai Police Commissioner and MP from Uttar Pradesh Satyapal Singh and Rajasthan MP and former DGP Harish Chandra Meena, said in its report that out of the 450 CCTV cameras installed in the complex, nearly 100 were not functioning.
The report, submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan with a copy marked to the Home Ministry, suggested enhanced security in all 12 gates in the Parliament complex, official sources said. The committee has found that many of the security personnel posted in the complex do not have bullet-proof helmets and jackets, besides latest equipments and modern weapons, sources said. Furthermore, most of the equipments installed for security are outdated, they said.
It suggested that the security architecture put in place in all 12 gates of Parliament has to be improved to ensure foolproof security. The Home Ministry has taken the report very seriously and action will be taken on it soon, sources said. The committee also suggested to upgrade Under Vehicle Scanning System (UVSS) and installation of the machine in all gates besides the explosive detectors.
The committee also suggested that -- the number of sniffer dogs deployed in Parliament has to be increased, observation towers have to be multiplied, communication system has to be upgraded and standard operating procedures have to be upgraded.
The committee was set up on August 7, 2014 to make a comprehensive review of the existing security set-up in Parliament and suggest measures to further strengthen it. On December 13, 2001, five terrorists in a white Ambassador car with a red beacon had stormed the Parliament complex.
Nine persons, mostly security guards, were killed in the incident. All five terrorists were also shot down in gunfight with security forces. After that incident, security of the complex was overhauled at an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore with hi-tech gadgets like boom barriers and tyre busters being installed.
In the previous Lok Sabha, a committee on security in Parliament complex, headed by then Deputy Speaker Karia Munda, was set up in the aftermath of the pepper spray attack inside Lok Sabha by a Congress MP that sparked massive outrage. This committee had examined security-related matters, which also included ways to prevent bringing of dangerous and life-threatening material into the House by the Members of Parliament themselves.
CRPF, Delhi Police and Parliament's own security staff are currently deployed for the entire complex.
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