Centre ready to extend CISF security to pvt firms

Just after the serial bomb blasts in Bangalore set off panic in the city...

Just after the serial bomb blasts in Bangalore set off panic in the city, especially among the thousands of big and small companies operating out of there, the Centre said it was considering extending CISF security to private enterprises.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil, speaking to reporters immediately after the explosions had left two people dead, said the Government would initiate the process of amending the law to make CISF security possible for private companies. Currently, only Government installations and public sector enterprises are eligible for CISF security, although there has been a long-standing demand to extend this security cover to private installations working in strategic areas such as refineries, shipping and ports, and IT.

“The IT industry in Bangalore is among the most important industries in the country and we are ready to amend the law to provide Government security to such enterprises,” Patil said.

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The Government’s readiness to beef up security here is a tad late. This was the second attack on Bangalore in the last three years. In December 2005, terrorists had opened fire and lobbed grenades on the campus of the prestigious Indian Institute of Science in an incident that left one scientist dead and another four people injured.

The most recent attacks add to the long list of terror attacks in the country over the past few years, the most recent being the serial blasts in Jaipur in May this year.

Some time back, incidentally, the CISF was enabled to provide consultancy services to private companies on ways to secure their campuses. It was already providing this service to about 50 companies, including IT major Infosys and Reliance Energy.

Somewhat ironically, the bomb attacks took place just a day after a high-level meeting in the Home Ministry reviewed the progress being made in the investigation of major terror-related incidents in recent years. The review meeting, at which representatives of seven states apart from Delhi were also present, emphasised the need to establish a coordinated and systematic approach towards investigating such incidents to enable a better understanding of the modus operandi of terrorists.