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Journalism of Courage
Two Indians who went to Iraq to work as service personnel at US bases have been killed and a third has been injured, of bullet wounds sustained driving a US convoy.
The two bodies were handed over to the Indian Embassy in Kuwait. While the Government hasn’t officially confirmed the identities of those killed, the injured man is from Kerala and is currently in a Baghdad hospital.
Sources said all three went to Iraq recently—the two killed were hired from India by a recruitment agency in Kuwait.
The deaths come amid increasing concern in New Delhi over reports that at least 1,500 ex-servicemen were hired out to Iraq by private security agencies in the country. This has prompted the Centre to seriously considering bringing in a law to regulate this mushrooming sector.
In fact, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha today said in Chennai that the Centre would probe how the ex-servicemen were sent to Iraq despite an April 15 ban on sending people to that country.
He said that the External Affairs Ministry had already written letters to Labour Ministry to take ‘‘appropriate action’’ against private security agencies involved into sending ex-servicemen into Iraq.
Sources said the need to regulate private security agencies was intensely debated in the Home Ministry late last month with Home Secretary Anil Baijal holding a meeting of internal security officials. It is understood that the government is contemplating a model law that will require all such agencies to register with the local police.
The Government’s hands are, however, tied. For, law and order is a state subject and there is no way a Central law can be framed to regulate these agencies. As for ex-servicemen, Defence Minister George Fernandes said today that there was nothing in the rule book to restrict their post-retirement employment.
The Home Ministry, however, is working on a law and goad the state governments to operationalise it. Two years ago, the Centre was working towards a private security agencies regulation bill but now the Home Ministry wants more teeth to the law.
It is learnt that the new law will ask the private security agencies to train their men with police or para-military training schools. And also set benchmarks for recruitment and operations.
G.B. Singh, President of Asian Professional Security Association, said that the earlier move of getting at least private security agencies in the Capital registered with the Delhi Police was a cropper as these agencies were not interested in the absence of any regulation.
While Home Ministry estimates that there are at least 3000 private security agencies in the country, the security industry estimates are around 10,000 with more than 3,000 in the capital alone. Besides, providing routine security, some of these private agencies also hire out armed guards, with non-prohibited weapons, for VVIP protection.
