Advertisement

Updated November 13th, 2019 at 19:47 IST

MHA approves CISF cover for Visva-Bharati University

The Union Home Ministry has accorded its approval for deployment of the CISF at the Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal, officials said on Wednesday.

Visva-Bharati University
| Image:self
Advertisement

The Union Home Ministry has accorded its approval for deployment of the CISF at the Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal, officials said on Wednesday. They said the central paramilitary force will soon constitute a 'board of officers' who will conduct a security audit of the facility at Santiniketan. An in-principle approval has been given by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for deployment of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel at the Visva-Bharati University, they said.

READ | Air Pollution: CISF Distributes Masks To Troops Deployed In Delhi-NCR

Visva-Bharati University to have CISF cover

Once formalised, it will be the first case of an educational institution or central university to have armed paramilitary personnel stationed permanently on campus. The audit team of the force will assess placement of check points, towers and entry and exit points in the university campus before they project the exact number of troops required to render the task of guarding the facility, they said. University officials, when contacted, said they had not received any official communication in this regard. The varsity's vice chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty had recently written to the CISF alleging that private security personnel employed by the university owe their allegiance to "TMC local bosses".

READ | CISF: No Threat From Suspicious Bag Found In IGI Airport, Delhi

The letter was also marked to the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, which has forwarded it to the paramilitary force. The CISF then had detailed its procedure for deploying a contingent, including conducting required checks and surveys. The vice-chancellor had cited incidents of confrontation between the university administration, students and staff, in his letter to request for CISF deployment on the campus.

"The private security personnel currently employed by the university owe their allegiance to the TMC local bosses and, hence, disobey Visva-Bharati's security officer with impunity. "There have been instances of students staging protest and preventing faculty members and officials from leaving the campus when the security guards remained silent onlookers and even created enabling conditions for the protesters," the letter by Chakrabarty had said.

READ: CISF Showcase Training Skills On National Unity Day Celebrations

Visva Bharati established in 1921 by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, was declared a central university in 1951. The CISF guards vital installations in the country, including the Delhi Metro, 61 civil airports and organisations in the aerospace and nuclear domain. It was tasked to extend its armed security cover, exclusively from the existing government sector deployment, to private installations after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which Pakistan-based terrorists targeted five-star hotels and other locations killing over 166 people. Currently, ten installations in the private sector are guarded by the 1.50-lakh personnel strength force that includes Infosys campuses in Bengaluru, Pune and Mysuru and the Reliance refinery in Jamnagar among others.

READ: CISF Welcomes Newest Member 'Ruby' In Its K9 Squad

Advertisement

Published November 13th, 2019 at 18:57 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Congress Kangana Ranaut
2 minutes ago
Bengaluru Traffic Restrictions For Feb 25 Owing to Constitution Awareness Campaign: Check Routes
6 minutes ago
Mandi Lok Sabha seat Pratibha Singh
6 minutes ago
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has announced the formation of a new PA cabinet.
8 minutes ago
rupees-dearness-allowance
10 minutes ago
Chandrakant Pandit and Gautam Gambhir
13 minutes ago
Shahjahan Sheikh in CBI Custody: First Visual Emerges | WATCH
21 minutes ago
Pushpa 2
24 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo