Ahead of G-20 event in Sgr; security-grid finalises plan for ‘fool-proof cover’

Srinagar, May 02: A high-level security meeting was held in Srinagar on Tuesday where the top officials of the security grid framed a joint strategy to ensure peaceful conduct of the upcoming G-20 event and to counter the possible fidayeen, drone, vehicle-borne IED, stand-off and grenade attacks.

The meeting evolved consensus that NSG will be used along with the Special Operation Group (SoG) of J&K police to counter drone, fidayeen, standoff, V-BIED or any untoward incident while as MARCOS will be given the responsibility of “lake and river domination.”

The security meeting was chaired by the ADGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar at Police Control Room (PCR) Srinagar where officers of Police, intelligence agencies and security forces participated in the threadbare discussions regarding overall security arrangements to be adopted for safe and smooth conduct of upcoming G-20 being hosted at Srinagar.

A police spokesman told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the meeting was attended by GoC Kilo Force Maj Gen Mohit Seth, IG CRPF Kashmir Ops Sector Manvinder Singh Bhatia, IG BSF Kashmir Frontier Ashok Yadav, Joint Director SIB Dipankar Trivedi, Commander 10 sector, Commander 03 sector, Commander 5 sector, DD SIB Srinagar, DIG of Police CKR Srinagar, DIG of Police NKR Baramulla, DIG CRPF North Srinagar, DIG CRPF South Srinagar, DIG CID Kashmir, CO 15 CISU, CO 31 CIU, SSP Srinagar, SSP Baramulla, SSP Budgam, Bandipora, SSP Ganderbal, SP Cargo, NSG officer and others.

“During the meeting, the ADGP Kashmir reviewed the security arrangements and emphasized the need for coordinated efforts to ensure foolproof security for the summit. The officials also discussed the deployment of security personnel, traffic management, and crowd control measures to be adopted for the peaceful conduct of the summit,” the spokesman said. “The ADGP also urged all agencies to work in a coordinated manner in order to ensure the success of the summit, which is expected to be attended by several high-profile dignitaries from across the world. The meeting focused on the deployment of security personnel, counter drone measures and other critical aspects of security planning.”

As per the spokesman, the ADGP directed the officials to ensure that the security arrangements are put in place well before the summit, and the deployment of security personnel should be done in a manner that does not cause inconvenience to the local residents & tourists. “The ADGP also emphasized the need to be vigilant and take pre-emptive measures to prevent any untoward incident during the summit. He further advised them that additional security measures should be placed at the vulnerable locations to avoid any untoward incident during the G20 summit,” the spokesman said.

He said that during the meeting, special focus was laid on the emerging threat of VBIEDs and other modes of potential terror attacks including potential fidayeen attacks, standoff fire & grenade attacks. “Counter measures to counter these terror threats were also discussed,” the spokesman said, adding that “ADGP Kashmir instructed all districts SSsP to focus on busting of terror modules by apprehending terrorist associates & generating preventive intelligence regarding the presence of terrorists in the valley. Besides, all SSsP were instructed to conduct anti-terrorist operations on specific inputs. The officials discussed the deployment of additional security forces & use of modern technology to secure the venues.”

The police spokesman said that during the meeting, the ADGP also stressed the importance of river and lake domination in ensuring the security of the summit. “He also emphasized the need for the Marine Commandos (MARCOS) to be put in place to provide a strong security cover for the water bodies around the summit venues,” he said. “The attendees reviewed the current security arrangements in place and discussed possible ways to enhance the security measures to ensure the safety of all participants and attendees during the event.”

Apart from the security measures, the meeting also discussed the management of foreign NGOs and media personnel during the summit, the spokesman said.

He said that GoC Kilo Force was assured to provide all assistance like domination of high reaches, corridor protection, additional AS Teams, area domination specifically in the night. “ADGP Kashmir shared with all stakeholders that NSG team will be used for counter fidayeen attack along with SoG and specialise NSG teams for counter drone will be deployed at all venues,” the spokesman said.

The spokesman said that the officials were also instructed to coordinate with other law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies to gather information about any potential security threats and take necessary actions to neutralize them—(KNO)