CISF replaces Delhi police for Parliament complex security

143 opposition MPs have been suspended from this session of Parliament.

After last week’s security breach, access to the Parliament complex will now be guarded by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the government said. The Home Ministry said the CISF will replace Delhi Police as the agency in charge and will take over all related responsibilities, including frisking entrants.

Security within the complex will continue to be the responsibility of the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The Delhi Police will continue to protect the outer perimeter. The change will be enforced after a detailed security survey ordered by the Home Ministry. According to the CISF website, the force provides "integrated security cover to sensitive public sector undertakings".  Currently, it guards over 350 such locations, including airports and nuclear facilities.

Earlier, frisking of visitors to Parliament complex was done by Delhi Police personnel. In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack on December 13, two persons jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow smoke from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by the MPs.

One of the accused had hidden a canister in his shoes. The sources told PTI that the Union home ministry on Wednesday directed for a survey of the Parliament building complex so that a “regular deployment of the CISF security and fire wing on a comprehensive pattern” could be done. This was done after an “in principle” approval was accorded by the ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to hand over the overall security of the Parliament building to the CISF. Members of the Parliament watch and ward security will also be sent in batches to train for human and goods frisking at a CISF centre, they said.

Also read: Parliament security breach accused wanted to create anarchy

Experts drawn from the government building security (GBS) unit of the CISF, which guards central government ministries, and fire combat and response officers of the force along with officials from the current Parliament security team will undertake the survey beginning later this week. The survey will draw the exact number of CISF personnel required for this new task and also clearly define the role of what each security agency engaged in Parliament security will do, they said.

Both the new and the old Parliament complex and their allied buildings will be brought under a comprehensive security cover of the CISF which will also have the existing elements of the Parliament Security Service (PSS), the Delhi Police and the Parliament Duty Group (PDG) of the CRPF, the sources said. Following this Parliament security breach incident, a committee under the chairmanship of CRPF Director General Anish Dayal Singh is looking into the overall security issues of the Parliament complex and will make recommendations to the Union Home Ministry for improvement.