Pass wont do,fingerprints to enter Wankhede stadium

ICC accreditation passes are meant to serve as a valid document for entry.

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In a move that has not gone down well with the Mumbai Cricket Association,its associate club members and sponsors of the World Cup,the Mumbai Police have rejected accreditation passes issued by the ICC to grant entry into Wankhede Stadium for the India-Sri Lanka final.

As part of the tight security arrangements for the match,all non-ticket holders seeking entry have been forced to queue up at the venue in advance to get their fingerprints scanned for special biometric passes issued by the police. Every single person,be it Sharad Pawar,MCA vice-president Dilip Vengsarkar or the Mumbai Police Commissioner himself has had to get fingerprints taken for the special passes issued for entry, said a senior police officer involved in the security arrangements.

Around 4,000 Mumbai Police passes have so far been issued to MCA and associate club members,organisers,private security guards,policemen posted inside the stadium etc. Only certain delegates and dignitaries,as well as valid ticket-holders do not need to pass through this procedure, the officer said.

ICC accreditation passes are meant to serve as a valid document for entry inside the different venues where matches are played through the tournament.

We have decided to ignore these ICC accreditation passes,as they are not foolproof and can be easily forged by someone, said the officer.

When contacted,Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations Rajkumar Vhatkar said,Except for people who will enter with tickets,everyone else is being issued biometric passes. This is on account of security concerns. The responsibility of maintaining safety and security is on the Mumbai Police,and we know how to do our job.

At a press conference Thursday evening,Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik had admitted that his force was overdoing security arrangements for the final. Such unprecedented security arrangements are nothing to be proud of or boast about,but they are in accordance with professional requirements. I admit we are on overkill,but it is better to be safe than sorry, he said.