Cops, KSCA in a war of words

While cops say 50 policemen for a 50,00-strong crowd are not sufficient, the association says they are just following orders from the ICC

With just 10 days left for the World Cup match between India and England, the city police seems to have locked horns with the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). This is because out of the 1,400 security personnel deployed for the security, half of them don't have passes to enter the stadium. Interestingly, the KSCA has issued them only 600 passes. Out of these, 50 have been issued to plainclothesmen to keep an eye on the 50,000 spectators.


More than enough? The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said
that 600 personnel were sufficient inside the stadium. File pic

However, the KSCA denies this, saying it is because of a communication gap, while the cops are unhappy with the fact that only those with passes will receive the cricket duty allowance.

Breaker
After the twin blasts at Chinnaswamy stadium during the IPLs last April, the police wanted to tread carefully, and had decided to deploy these 1,400 personnel inside and outside the venue during the matches. But they were in a rude shock when they were issued only half of what they had asked for.

Allegedly, when ACP T Sunil Kumar took up the matter with the KSCA higher-ups, he was told that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has said that 600 personnel were sufficient inside the stadium, and the KSCA was merely following orders.

An angry Kumar then asked the association to state the same in writing that the city police would not be responsible for any security problem during the match, but KSCA didn't budge.

KSCA spokesperson Sujith Somasundar said, "It is the police's job to secure the stadium, but the ICC has allotted only 600 passes to them. Why do they need the personnel deployed outside the stadium to go in during the match anyway? In any case, this is a communication gap, and we will sort it out soon. We will request the ICC to increase the number of passes if need be.

Breaker
A police official said, "The newly-elected committee doesn't know the security procedures. They are just taking us for granted. If the KSCA issues only 600 passes, then they will only pay as many personnel. Who'll pay the other 800?"

Kumar said, "We only want to protect the people and keep the peace. The KSCA has to understand this. If they don't give it to me in writing, I will recall my troops."

50 for 50,000
Only 50 passes have been issued to the intelligence department to guard around 50,000 spectators. Of the total 600 passes, nearly 100 passes are issued to higher officials. Of the remaining 500, 50 are distributed among the plainclothesmen. But even out of these, 15-20 passes are given to senior officers, leaving roughly 35 passes for regular intelligence personnel.

An officer said, "It is impossible to guard 50,000 people with 50 officers. God forbid, if anything untoward happens, we'll be blamed. The stadium is spread over a kilometer, and the deployed number of intelligence personnel is not enough. They really must issue more passes."

(With inputs from Imran Gowhar)