Mission security

Comprising ex-servicemen from the armed forces,police,paramilitary forces and home guards,193 are being trained at the Institute of Advanced Security Training and Management (IASTM) in Bandra and Virar,Protekt in Panvel and Unifort in Belapur,besides the MSSC’s outdoor training at the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) grounds,Goregaon.

“We will recruit from the public in possibly two months,after receiving an approval of our recruitment rules from the state government,” said G M Chauhan,Deputy Commissioner of Police and general manager of MSSC.

Previous batches are stationed at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Octroi checkpoints,a water filtration tank at Bhandup and at Indian Institute of Technology,Powai. “Since their posting,octroi collection has risen; IIT Powai has asked for more troops,” said Chauhan,adding that 550 more have been shortlisted for training.

“These public servants are accountable and will serve as an extension of the police except that they are unarmed. They have the right to arrest and lodge FIRs against those posing a security threat,” said R K Bannerjee,director,IASTM. Besides fire safety and first-aid,these trainees learn to map establishments,identify security weak spots and exercise composure in crisis situations. Only 10 per cent of these personnel,who have been exposed to and are licensed to operate arms,are trained in weaponry at the SRPF camp.

“The first batch was trained for two weeks only last December,but based on feedback from organisations where they have been stationed,we have extended the course to six weeks — apart from the mandatory extra week for supervisors,” said Bannerjee.

On completion of their training,the personnel will receive a joint certificate from the training institute and the MSSC. Reserve Bank of India,National Stock Exchange,Bombay Stock Exchange,SEBI and the BMC are expected to employ the task force at their concerns.

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