Secretariat security — CISF to replace ITBP

When contacted, Director General of Haryana Police A. S. Bhatotia said: "We may oppose this move if we are consulted on this as ITBP was doing quite a good job." He said that since CISF was basically trained for only industrial security, ITBP was better for this.

"The CISF should be taking over soon," said Punjab Police Inspector General (Security) S. S. Virk. "It is learnt that they have some other operational commitments." He said that the state police had no plan to oppose the deployment of CISF. Nearly 1,500 personnel of two ITBP battalions guard the secretariat building. Personnel of Punjab police and Haryana police are also deployed there for the security of bureaucrats and politicians.

Security around the secretariat was entrusted to the ITBP after the August 1995 bomb blast which killed Punjab Chief Minister Beant and 16 others. At that time, various police forces were posted around the secretariat and they had blamed each other for the lapse which resulted in the blast.

A senior UT police official, when contacted, said that the change would make not much of a difference as the CISF was equally well-equipped to handle the job. "They will be briefed and sensitised about the kind of duties required there," the official added.

UT Inspector General of Police S. K. Singh, while confirming that CISF will be taking over soon, declined to comment on whether it will affect the security in any manner.