BENGALURU: Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy will convene a meeting on Friday with the state DG&IGP and other officials to chalk out a plan for enhancing security measures at high security zones such as Vidhana Soudha, Vikasa Soudha and M S Building on the lines of security cover at Parliament. The step comes after Lokayukta Justice P Vishwanath Shetty was stabbed at his office on Wednesday.
Reddy on Thursday said the security ring around these zones will be enhanced and a plan similar to that followed at Parliament in New Delhi will be put in place. He said DG&IGP Neelamani N Raju and other top police officials will discuss various plans.
Following the 2001 Parliament attack, the security systems at Parliament were revisited and elite forces were deployed in more numbers. A visitor has to clear many levels of security checks to enter the Parliament complex which includes displaying a photo identity card, passing through metal detectors (by equipment) and a manual check. Different passes are issued for lobbies, galleries, central hall and Parliament house complex to help security staff easily identify trespassers.
According to Parliament security services manual, all of the agencies cohesively work and security is reviewed regularly. Entry of the visitors for meetings with officials in the Parliament complex is allowed by the reception only on receipt of a written request from the personal staff of the ministers/chairmen/officer concerned well in advance.
Sharing his views on the proposal, retired DG&IGP S T Ramesh said that it is still not clear what ‘Parliamentary model of security’ means. “Though security has to be tightened, free access to citizens should also be provided so that they can interact with officials regarding their grievances,” he said. Ramesh said the Home Department should look into non-functional security gadgets in different government offices. “Security audit and both routine and surprise checks should be prescribed at regular intervals,” he added.