PM’s security
- January 6, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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PM’s security
Subject – Defence and Security
Context – Prime Minister’s cavalcade stranded on a flyover in Punjab’s Ferozepur district for over 15 minutes due to a protest by farmers
Concept –
- Planning of the PM’s security during any visit is an elaborate exercise that involves both central agencies and state police forces. Broad guidelines are laid down in what is called the SPG’s ‘Blue Book’.
- Three days before any planned visit, the Special Protection Group (SPG), which is responsible for the PM’s security, holds a mandatory Advance Security Liaison (ASL) with everyone involved in securing the event, including SPG officials, Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials in the state concerned, state police officials and the district magistrate concerned.
- Every minute detail of the visit and required security arrangements are discussed among the officials. Once the meeting is over, an ASL report is prepared, and it is signed by all those who attended. Based on this report, all security arrangements are made.
What is chalked out during the meeting?
- Generally, a PM’s visit is supposed to be planned out to the very last detail, and the itinerary that is planned thereafter is expected to stick to it.
- Thus, the meeting discusses how the PM would arrive (by air, road, or rail) and, once he lands, how he would reach the venue of his programme (generally by helicopter or road). In planning this, intelligence inputs of central agencies and the local intelligence unit are taken into consideration.
- Then the security of the venue — which involves aspects such as entry and exit, frisking of those coming to the venue, and placing of door frame metal detectors — is discussed. The structural stability of the dais is checked as well. (There have been incidents of the stage at public meetings collapsing while leaders are on it.)
- Fire safety of the venue is also audited. Even the weather report for the day is taken into consideration. If the PM is likely to take a boat to reach any place, the functional readiness and safety of the boat is authorised on a certificate.
- The SPG only provides proximate security to the PM. When the PM is travelling to any state, it is the responsibility of the state police to ensure overall security. They have the responsibility of intelligence gathering, route clearance, venue sanitisation, and crowd management.
- Central intelligence agencies are responsible for providing inputs about any threat to security. However, it is the SPG that takes the final call on how the PM’s security is to be arranged. Sources said the SPG never allows the PM’s movement until the local police gives the go-ahead.
- The state police are also supposed to conduct anti-sabotage checks and to secure the route by placing not only men on the roads but also snipers on rooftops.
- The state police also provide a pilot vehicle that leads the PM’s cavalcade and, if the PM is likely to stay at a place, an officer of the level of superintendent of police (SP) is deputed as camp commandant to ensure security.