While a man recently shot himself on the Delhi Metro premises highlighting the chinks in the armour of the rapid rail network used by an estimated 26 lakh people every day, statistics show that over 60 security breaches either by way of smuggling of unchecked baggages or unfrisked entry of passengers inside Delhi Metro stations have been detected this year.
According to the official data, 24 cases were detected between January-September this year of people clandestinely getting inside the station area by hoodwinking CISF and other security guards deployed to mandatorily frisk each and every person going inside the Metro station area. A total of 43 incidents have been reported during the same period where unchecked baggage was sneaked in through the unsecured areas in Metro stations.
A senior official said that 67 incidents of security breach in nine months is a worrying concern for Metro security. “Work is on to plug loopholes and enhance security features here,” said the official.
The worrying concern and figures have been shared by the CISF, mandated to secure the Delhi Metro, with the Union Home Ministry, Central security agencies and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for immediate intervention and remedial action.
However, on the positive side, the Central Industrial Security Force was able to detect these instances and in 40 cases of unchecked baggage going inside, the Metro authorities fined the errants under provisions of relevant laws.
Officials said while these incidents did not indicate they were part of a terrorist design or a sabotage act, the issue has been flagged as ‘danger zone’ by CISF and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in their security audits done more than once within this year in the network with over 150 stations running across Delhi and National Capital Area (NCR) comprising Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad.
CISF personnel, during the same time period, also intercepted 29 cases where illegal arms and ammunition was being carried inside the Metro by passengers either in their luggage or person, knowingly or unknowingly.
While a dozen arms were seized in these instances, 140 rounds of ammunition were recovered at various stations.
CISF Director General Surender Singh has recently said that after the incident of a man sneaking in a weapon in Metro hidden in a bag on October 1, the force has asked Metro authorities to plug long existing "weak links" in the security infrastructure at some of the stations in its network.
The CISF chief had said that it was by taking the "advantage" of this weak link of a low-height glass partition that 22-year-old Shivesh Kumar was able to smuggle in a bag, containing the said weapon, by easily hoodwinking security personnel.
He is later alleged to have used the gun to shoot himself grievously after he got down at the Rajiv Chowk Metro Station. The bag was handed over to Kumar by his sister from over a 3-feet glass partition which is located in the unsecured area of the Chandani Chowk station.
The force has said it wants these glass partitions to be extended in length to upto 6 ft so that no one is able to breach Metro security and will have to mandatorily go through the manual frisking and scanning of baggage through the designated entry points.
The incident brought to light the vulnerability of some heavy footfall receiving stations of the network following which the security apparatus in these areas is being tightened further and is being reviewed.