BHUBANESWAR: Cabinet minister Naba Kishore Das’ murder having put the focus back on security of top functionaries in the state, the Odisha government has approved a separate security division for VVIPs visiting Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
The new wing will exclusively handle all security arrangements, except proximity cover which is guided by rule books for some top functionaries. Currently, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack DCPs are entrusted with the responsibility in the Twin City.
The security division will be headed by a DCP and have 700 to 1,200 personnel in its ranks. The staff will be sourced from the existing manpower of Odisha Police, said reliable sources. To give this effect, the Special Tactical Unit of Odisha Police and Anti-Terrorist Squad of Commissionerate Police will be merged with the security division.
Besides making arrangements during visits of VVIPs in the Twin City, the new wing will provide static security for key installations and important locations. The division will provide security at locations like Lingaraj Temple, Raj Bhavan, Chief Minister’s residence, Lok Sewa Bhawan, Orissa High Court, among others. It will also act as the first responder in case of any emergency like a terrorist attack.
Sources said the division will also monitor movement of personal security officers (PSOs) appointed for the protected people in the state. When a protected person travels outside Odisha, security is provided to him/her by the police of the state they are visiting.
The security division, once it starts functioning, will monitor the movement of PSOs when protected people visit other states.Director General of Police Sunil Kumar Bansal informed The New Indian Express that proposal for the new division has received approval of the government.
“Security divisions exist in metro cities like New Delhi and Mumbai and a proposal to set up a similar wing for Bhubaneswar and Cuttack was sent to the Government a few months back. It will be active shortly,” he said.
The division will also make periodic assessment of the mental health of the PSOs deployed to provide security to the protected people in the twin city.After the broad-daylight murder of Das last month by an assistant sub-inspector of police, political leaders had expressed apprehensions about their security.
Sources said there are about 120 protected people in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack and security is provided by Special Branch and Commissionerate Police.