Two layers of security — a door frame metal detector at the main entrance and security guards posted on the first floor of the building — failed to detect the knife or stop Tejraj Sharma from entering the chamber of Lokayukta P. Vishwanatha Shetty on Wednesday.
It was only on hearing Mr. Shetty’s cries for help that the gunman outside the office realised something was terribly wrong. By then, Tejraj had stabbed Mr. Shetty multiple times with the knife.
People working at the Lokayukta office in MS Building are not surprised by the security lapses. The door frame metal detector did not beep to alert the guards about an armed man entering the building. “The detector has been dysfunctional for many months now,” say sources.
Sources also confirmed that contrary to procedures laid down earlier, Tejraj was not frisked before he entered the Lokayukta chamber. He entered the office at 12.45 p.m. and wrote his name in the visitor’s register. He then went to meet Mr. Shetty only at 1.50 p.m. He went unchecked for an hour.
A former Lokayukta police official said that alternative security arrangements should have been made. “If the door frame metal detector was not working, security guards at the main entrance should have been given hand-held metal detectors or at least the authority to frisk all visitors,” said the official.
This is not the first time that security lapses at the institute have come into focus. “The security at the institution is so lax that something like this was bound to happen. Even today, there is no ID verification for visitors. They can enter any name they wish,” a senior official said.
Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy told The Hindu that a new door frame metal detector will be set up at the Lokayukta office at the earliest. Other measures too will be taken to beef up security, he said.
Can’t be aggressive on security: Upalokayukta
Upalokayukta N. Ananda, while expressing dismay and shock at the incident, said Lokayukta cannot go aggressive on security. “People come here with their problems and with hope. This is a public office that should be more welcoming. We cannot treat visitors as suspects and subject them to intense security check. But once we tide over this, we will discuss it and see what new measures can be taken,” he said.
Former Lokayukta Santosh Hegde also said that additional security inside the building was “impractical” as the Lokayukta institution should be welcoming to visitors and not to discourage them.
He said the unfortunate incident was a result of security failure. “There is a metal detector, and after that, visitors are frisked with a hand-held metal detector. But in most cases, the police do not do it. Because of this, there are security lapses every day, but today, it has unfortunately turned violent,” he said.
