CISF Unit Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
| CISF Unit Delhi Metro Rail Corporation केऔसुब इकाई दिल्ली मेट्रो रेल कॉर्पोरेशन | |
|---|---|
 Logo of CISF | |
| Abbreviation | CISF Unit DMRC |
| Motto | Protection and Security |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 2007 |
| Employees | 12,528 (sanctioned strength) |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Federal agency | IN |
| Operations jurisdiction | Delhi, IN |
| Governing body | Ministry of Home Affairs (India) |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Shastri Park, Delhi |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent agency | Central Industrial Security Force |
CISF Unit Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (abbreviated as CISF Unit DMRC) is a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) unit responsible for providing security cover to Delhi Metro, Delhi, India. The Unit is headed by a Deputy Inspector General who is an Indian Police Service officer; the incumbent is Ms Meghana Yadav, a 2007 IPS officer from AGMUT cadre.[1] The Headquarters of the Unit is situated at Shastri Park near Delhi IT Park.[2] It is the single largest unit of CISF in the country with sanctioned strength of 12,528 personnel. The Unit operates two control rooms for better monitoring and coordination and has different specialised wings such as the Quick Reaction Team, Dog Squad and Bomb Detection Squad.
Induction
[edit]Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system serving Delhi and its satellite cities in the National Capital Region since the inauguration of its first line in 2002. Initially the security coverage to the Delhi Metro network was provided by the Delhi Police until 2007. However, on 15 April 2007 the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, handed over the security of metro to the Central Industrial Security Force.[3] The Unit provides security and protection to all the metro stations, depots and railway substations.
Security threats in Delhi Metro
[edit]Delhi Metro has a large network of 10 different lines consisting of 253 stations with track length 347.66 km (216.03 mi). Even though crime rate, including pickpocketing, walking on the metro track and carrying illegal arms and ammunition, in the metro system is rising but the manpower to provide security is not enough.[4] The present deployed strength of the CISF Unit DMRC is of around 9,000 personnel out of which 7,000 are posted and rest are on 'internal security' duty. In 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs approved 5,000 additional personnel for the Unit. With the sanctioned strength of total 12,528 personnel, the Unit has become the largest single-unit under the security cover of the CISF in the country.[5]
Security coverage
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The CISF personnel are responsible for access control of passengers inside the metro stations and each passenger must go through a door frame metal detector (DFMD) before being frisked by a CISF personnel. Double-layered frisking is carried out when threat perception is high like on the national days viz the Independence and the Republic day in which a commuter is also frisked even before entering the DFMD.[2][6]
The Unit operates two centralised control rooms, Operational Control Centres (OCC), at Barakhamba Road and Shastri Park that are connected with CCTV cameras installed across the Delhi Metro network for better monitoring and coordination. The control rooms are the centres where important information is gathered from the different locations across the network and communicated to the senior officials and the subsequent orders on urgent matters and relevant information are passed over to the respective officers deployed in the field.[7]
Periodic security mock drills are carried out by the Unit at stations and on trains to ensure preparedness and coordination of different agencies – DMRC, police, fire brigade and medical service – during potential emergency situations.[8]
Several Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) are deployed by the Unit to counter any potential man-made threat to the security of the metro system.[9] On average five stations are assigned as area of responsibility to each QRT and it keeps swinging between these stations focusing especially in the area excluded from paid area of a metro station.[10]
A special Dog Squad Wing headed by an inspector-rank officer is maintained by the Unit which employs more than 60, mostly female, sniffer dogs of five breeds: Labrador Retriever, German Shepherds, Cocker Spaniels, Golden Retriever and Belgian Malinois. All the dogs are kept at Unit's kennel in Shastri Park and each one of them is cared and managed by its designated handler of the rank of head constable or constable who receives at least two months of basic training in this regard. The dogs undergo training at either Border Security Force's National Training Center for Dogs, Tekanpur or Central Reserve Police Force's Dog Breeding And Training School, Bangalore. They are trained to assist the personnel in detecting arms, explosives and narcotics. These dogs are considered part of the force and treated as sepoy with four-hour working shift in a day. After a service of 10 years the dogs get retired and the Unit gives them up for adoption through NGOs without any charges.[11][12]
The Bomb Detection Squad (BDS) Wing of the Unit equipped with required electronic devices has a responsibility to detect any potential explosives or IEDs.[13][14] The vehicle-borne BDS teams regularly conduct anti-sabotage checks in the metro network.[2] As per the standard operating procedure for dealing with any unattended bag or item in the metro premises, the BDS team is called whenever any such article is found.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ "APPOINTMENT ON PROMOTION TO THE RANK OF DEPUTY INSPECT GENERAL" (PDF). cisf.gov.in. CISF. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "Metro Security". Delhimetrorail.com. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ^ "CISF to take over Delhi Metro security". The Times of India. Press Trust of India. 7 March 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ^ Mehta, Kanika (15 November 2018). "Delhi Metro security going off track with rising crime, suicide attempts". India Today. New Delhi.
- ^ "Government approves additional 5,000 CISF troops, new DIG post for security in Delhi Metro". India Today. Press Trust of India. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
- ^ "Independence day: CISF to frisk passengers twice before entering Delhi Metro". The Economic Times. Press Trust of India. 13 July 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
- ^ Mondal, Dibyendu (11 August 2018). "CISF sets up new control room to enhance Delhi Metro security". The Sunday Guardian. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ "Mock drill conducted at Delhi Metro stations". Business Line. Press Trust of India. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ Jain, Bharat (16 June 2008). "CISF seeks more personnel, gadgets for Metro security". The Economic Times. New Delhi. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ "CISF directs quick reaction teams to increase patrols at Delhi metro stations to check crime against women". Firstpost. Press Trust of India. 18 November 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ Trivedi, Saurabh (18 March 2018). "As Metro expands, CISF dog squad gets new members". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- ^ "Meet 'Khoj,' the Most Expensive Member of CISF's Dog Squad for Protecting Delhi Metro". News18 India. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
'Khoj', a dog from the Belgian Malinois breed, which is believed to have accompanied the US Navy Seal team that killed Osama bin Laden, is set to become the first track dog to join the force in protecting Delhi Metro.
- ^ a b Srivastava, Anvit (2 August 2018). "Plain luck and canine unit keep metro's bomb squad running". The Hindustan Times. Delhi.
- ^ "CISF conducts mock drill on 'bomb threat call' at Okhla Bird Sanctuary Metro Station". Uniindia.com. New Delhi. United News of India. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2019.