22 Interview
may 15-21, 2017
interview OP Singh, DG, CISF
“I like being, also being called an honest policeman” The force, like CRPF, BSF or ITBP, was formed to meet a special need: protecting our growing industrial outfits, especially critical ones of the government such as airports. Yet, the CISF also does other crucial work, including providing security to important persons in case of threat perceptions. But running a mammoth organisation where force members are under constant stress also calls for a human face
Quick Glance CISF was born in response to an industrial calamity CISF has the responsibility of protecting the national property Today, CISF has also the mandate to protect critical infrastructure
reeta singh CISF is a semi-military force but it is not stationed on the border. You were in the NDRF and are currently in CISF. In this situation, what special features do you find in the CRPF? See, all the paramilitary forces are Central Armed Police Forces. Whether it is CRPF, BSF, ITBP, they all do the same work, they all have the same character. The oldest is the CRPF, which was born in 1939. An important event is that in 1969, a calamitous fire broke out at the Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) of Ranchi, and due to this there was a rise in communal tension. The local police was unable to control the situation. At
this time, our planners thought that there should be a special force for industrial security. Then emerged the challenge to give these ventures security and protection in a professional manner. A committee was formed to consider this challenge and it proposed the formation of a new force. In this way CISF was entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the national property along with industrial security. CISF profiles have changed over the time. The most important of all is the responsibilities of airport safety. For the first time we were deployed in Jaipur in 2001. Today the CISF’s responsibility is to protect the 59 airports of the country. Today, the CISF’s profile is such that it has transcended the industrial to include the
critical infrastructure. As a result, today we are not only protecting public sector undertakings but also for nuclear energy units, space research centers, Delhi Metro, airports and ports. Today, under our security surveillance, there are 332 units. Gradually, we have also started providing protection to private sector undertakings. Actually all, after the 26/11 attacks, it is believed that India has become an insecure territory. Companies such as Infosys and Reliance have approached the Indian government and demanded that they should be given a professional security force so that they can reduce their ‘Quick Response Time’ and show the whole world that they are not only safe but that their economy is also safe.
What are the private sector companies, which you are providing protection and do you charge them? Yes, we accept charges from them. There were seven private sector companies in 2009-10 and now there are nine private sector companies, to which we are providing protection. These include Infosys, Reliance’s Jamnagar unit, Electronic City (Bangalore), Coastal Power Limited (Gujarat), Tata Steel (Kalinganagar), Patanjali and IT Park Reliance (Mumbai). It is definitely a matter of great responsibility for us that even private sector enterprises should rely on our security as much as the public sector. Since we have a high level of competency and efficiency, we also work on security related counseling. So far, we have given 134 units this kind of service. With this kind of work, we made crores of rupees, which we passed on to the government. Indeed, the CISF is the only force in the country, which works on a cost-reimbursement basis. Whomsoever we provide service, we charge them in return, whether they are public enterprises, private organisations or airports. Tell us something about commando training? Commandos are needed because ‘Quick Response Time’ is very important in emergencies. The services of commando protection are usually given to those who stand a greater risk in terms of security. We do not protect them on VIP bases, but in terms of the levels of security risk risk perception. For instance, commando