HYDERABAD: Following the attack on YSRC chief Jagan Mohan Reddy at Visakhapatnam airport on Thursday, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is mulling restrictions on the entry of all passengers at check-in area, when there is movement of classified passengers or VIPS.
“The passengers will either be not allowed or will be thoroughly frisked, before allowing them to go near the classified persons,” CISF officials said. This may also apply to the staff working at the stalls on the airport premises.
Though the CISF does not follow the practise of frisking the passengers before letting them into the check-in area at any airport, other surveillance procedures are in place to handle emergencies. These include CC cameras, armed CISF personnel and other securitymen in plain clothes and marshals to handle any untoward situation.
While the AP police chief RP Thakur said that an Assistant Commandant of the CISF was present at the spot at the time of the attack, CISF officials claimed that his presence prevented further damage to the VIP by nabbing the attacker immediately.
According to CISF officials, armed CISF personnel are deployed all over the airport, but their job to frisk passengers or scrutinise them begins only after they clear the security check and enter the security hold area (SHA), which is a completely sanitised location.
But Thursday’s incident happened in the check-in area, where there is no frisking of passengers or staff. At this location, any person with suspicious movement will be apprehended or frisked and it is done randomly. “The man involved in the attack is an employee of a restaurant located in the check-in area and holds an Airport Entry Pass (AEP), which is issued after a background check, the officials said.
Thursday’s incident pushed the CISF officials into introspection. “We should also restrict the number of followers accompanying the VIP. They should either be prohibited or allowed only after thorough search. The movement of staff should also be regulated after checking. There are permission for tools used in the kitchen, but the weapon used in the attack on Jagan is different and how it was brought inside the airport will be probed, ” they said.
Jagan discharged from hospital
YSRC president Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was injured in a knife attack at the Vizag airport, was discharged from a private hospital here on Friday. Doctors attending him had said he received a lacerated injury on his shoulder and had to undergo a surgical procedure. Jagan, Leader of Opposition in the AP Assembly, who checked into a private hospital in Hyderabad on Thursday, was discharged on Friday.