NEW DELHI: Don’t get surprised if you see more women security officers in the team guarding the President. Delhi Police is planning to add more women officers, especially in the Close Protection Team (CPT) of the President. The move follows positive feedback about their effectiveness in performing sensitive duties involving constant interface with dignitaries.
Currently, there are almost a dozen women officers with President’s security, of which two are in the CPT, responsible for close proximity security of the Head of State.
“They are tough, well-trained and equally capable of neutralising any threat. We have found them to be more effective in highly-sensitive duties involving constant interface with VVIPs as they remain polite but firm while handling adversarial situations. We are planning to introduce more such faces,” Shalini Singh, Joint Commissioner, Rashtrapati Bhawan, said.
These officers are different from normal Delhi Police officers. “All security officers have a common dress code, which is blue suit. As we meet international dignitaries we have to wear a formal blue suit, carry latest weapons with other gadgets, which are not visible,” said Inspector Seema Sharma.
Women police officers in Rashtrapati Bhawan get training of various types, including firing and personality enhancement skills.
“We are not only trained to deal with women, we can also deal with men trying to breach the security cover,” Inspector Seema Sharma said.
Her colleague Inspector Sushila says: “Here we get a different grooming, including on how to dress. Everything is different from the police. We have to go through various training modules, including firing at pre-decided intervals.”