Airports in Srinagar and Jammu are to be “immediately” brought under the security cover of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in view of the arrest of DSP Davinder Singh with two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, a Jammu and Kashmir government order has said.
“This issue has acquired immediacy in view of the recent developments relating to the arrest of DSP airport security Davinder Singh for trying to assist militants to travel to other parts of the country,” the order read.
CRPF & J-K Police guarding airports at present
The two sensitive airports at Jammu and Srinagar are to be “handed over” to the CISF by January 31, the order of the Jammu and Kashmir Home Department to the Director-General of Police (DGP) issued on Wednesday said.
The two airports are guarded by the CRPF and the J-K Police at present. Additional secretary to the Jammu and Kashmir government Khalid Majeed directed the DGP to arrange suitable accommodation for housing the CISF personnel at Jammu and Srinagar Airports, along with transport and other PIF (Pre Induction Formalities) facilities.
CISF is the national civil aviation security force and at present, it guards 61 airports including the ones at Delhi and Mumbai. Once inducted at the most-sensitive Srinagar airport, the CISF will secure access control at both the city and airside (tarmac area) while the CRPF will be responsible for securing the outer periphery. At the Jammu airport, the peripheral security duties will be rendered by the J-K Police.
An assortment of surveillance and security gadgets like CCTVs, observation monitors, hand-held metal detectors, bullet-proof patrol vehicles as well as bomb detection and disposal equipment are also being provided by the airport operator, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), to the CISF.
The Union government sometime back made it clear that CISF will be the only civil airports guarding force and all such facilities in the country will be gradually brought under its command to bolster aviation security and tighten anti-terror and anti-hijack protocols.