Venue commanders hold key to security

During the Games,these officers would have access to all the facilities inside a venue,besides satellite phones,for interacting with the officers deployed there. The venue commander will brief all the officers in the morning before the competition starts at his venue,and debrief them after the event is over. “The venue commanders would make continuous rounds of the stadium during the event and coordinate with senior officials of other forces. Nobody will leave the duty area without his permission. Even foreign security representatives would be in touch with the venue commander,” an officer said.

“At present,these officers attend around five to six meetings everyday to discuss plans,make arrangements,identify subordinates and understand the topography of the stadium,among other things. Below them are zonal officers in numbers of six to eight,most of them of the ACP rank,who have been given specific duties inside a venue. The sector officer below them has been appointed to check minute details of security such as competition arena parking areas,anti-sabotage teams,gates,toilet areas,administrative buildings of the stadium,CCTV control rooms,rooftops,vehicle checks and lanes near the stadium,” he added.

“The security of every stadium and village will be supervised by the venue commander. Everybody has to report to him,” said Rajan Bhagat,PRO of Delhi Police. The overall security arrangements made by the venue commander would be personally monitored by Delhi Police Commissioner Y S Dadwal.

Venue commanders and officials deployed inside a venue have exclusive call signs. They have been provided permanent places to stay in the stadium for the duration of the Games,the officer said,adding,“He has to check the closed circuit television camera footage at all times.”

The venue commander of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium,where the opening and closing ceremonies would be held,is Additional Commissioner of Police Vivek Gogia.

While the venue commander for the Games Village is Joint CP Sudhir Yadav,Additional CP R S Krishnia is in charge of National Stadium,KC Dwivedi for Yamuna Sports Complex,Additional CP Virender Singh Chahal for Karni Singh Shooting Range,and Additional DCP Paramaditya for R K Khanna Stadium.