Wiser from 26/11,cops ask top hotels for 3D maps

“We held a meeting with five-star hotels and asked them to come up with the 3D walkthrough of their installations. This is part of our plan to upgrade security in hotels. We took these measures after the Mumbai attacks in 2008 when big hotels were targeted,” said V A Gupta,Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police,New Delhi. Police said security personnel of the hotels have been asked to prepare the 3D maps at the earliest.

During the 26/11 attacks,securitymen lost crucial time in finding a proper route to get to the terrorists who had taken people hostage. Security personnel were caught off-guard when terrorists began hurling grenades at them.

The New Delhi district has 12-five star hotels.

“A copy of the 3D map will be in our possession and the other one would be with the hotel. If there is a hostage-like situation,our officers will know from where to enter,the shortest distance available to that place,whether there is a wall or a corner where commandos can take positions,” a police officer said.

When contacted,a spokesperson for the Taj Group said,“We do not wish to comment on security plans.”

Police said the proposal for a 3D map was taken up during a security review meeting,after the January 26 celebrations.

“We keep doing security audit of all hotels in our area. Most hotels abroad have this facility. Although hotels have CCTV cameras,scanners and other equipment in place,this will give us an edge in providing security solutions,” the officer said.