Paramilitary force to guard taj and trident

Infosys, Reliance's Jamnagar refinery, JayPee Hotels and some Delhi schools will also get CISF cover

Paramilitary force to guard taj and trident

Infosys, Reliance's Jamnagar refinery, JayPee Hotels and some Delhi schools will also get CISF cover

The Taj and Trident hotels in Mumbaiu00a0prime targets of terrorist strikes in November last yearu00a0would now be guarded by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

The Central paramilitary force, largely responsible for maintaining internal security and guarding installations of national importance, would now be providing security to the corporates that are critical to the national economy in the wake of the Rajya Sabha clearing the CISF (Amendment) Bill 2008.

Few hospitals and schools in the Capital would also be brought under the CISF cover, he added, while refusing to name them. "The services will be provided to companies of critical infrastructure only or the companies which play an important role in national economy," the official said.

Leading corporate houses, including Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Petroleum, Anil Ambani's Reliance Energy, National Stock Exchange, Ambuja Cements, Jindal Steel & Power, Tata Steel, JayPee Group, biotechnology major Biocon and several IT companies, had asked for extension of the CISF security cover.

The amendment to the CISF Bill sought to allow the central force to be posted at private sector installations and giving legal cover to the paramilitary force for protection of Indian missions abroad.

Presenting the bill in the parliament, Home Minister P Chidambaram had said that the 26/11 Mumbai terror strikes have brought into focus the threat to "iconic institutions, which needed to be protected".

The central force would be deployed on cost reimbursement basis and a risk analysis with the private sector units would be made before being provided the CISF cover.

Inaugurating an exposition on security in the Capital, Minister of State for Home Affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal said, "Terrorist organisations like Al-Qaeda, Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Taliban may target important cities of the country but Indian government is fully prepared to deal with all kinds of threats."u00a0"We are fully prepared to deal with any kind of threat, be it from land, water or through aerial route," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, CISF Director General (DG) NR Das said, "The attacks in Mumbai have made it clear that such terror attacks can happen any where and the best way to deal with them is to adopt right technology," he said.

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