What with the Prime Minister, thousands of VVIPs and the who’s who of every industry imaginable present in Kochi, the state’s security agencies had no time to even blink. But it wasn’t just the Navy, the police, the Thunderbolt commandos, the dog squad and the other security agencies that were burning the midnight oil in the last three days of the ‘Emerging Kerala’ meet.
For amid the crowds and the shadows stood 21 men in black, watching every move and every glance.
Roped in by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the meet, a special squad of detectives from a Bengaluru-based private detective agency, was to perform the role equivalent to that of a ‘bouncer’ at a disco.
Dressed in plain black suits, these men, often well-built and approximately seven feet tall, would stand at crucial entrances, meeting points and exits.
“People involved in suspicious activities would be checked immediately. We have the authority to even check the police officers and confirm their identities. We have also placed metal detectors at crucial entrances and exits to check the presence of knives or bombs,” said R S Mahanthesh, the in-charge of the 21-member special squad of the detective agency. Apart from dangero u s items, the squads w e r e also on the lookout for smokers, drug addicts and people engaged in similar activities at the venue of the ‘Emerging Kerala’ meet.
“When we look at a person, we can usually make out whether he or she is a smoker or a drug addict, owing to our training. We keep an eye on such people and their moves throughout the event,” said a member of the dog squad. The detective agency was previously involved in operations at similar conferences and exhibitions held by the Karnataka and the Tamil Nadu governments with the participation of delegates from various parts of the world.
They also manage mega events like rock shows, music nights, mega parties and the like, often providing services including gun-man, bodyguard, dog squad, ladyguard, fire-fighters and ambulance.