The impending visit of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to Tiruchi on February 13 has galvanised law enforcers into throwing a security blanket on the city .
A comprehensive security scheme has been put in place with police personnel being drawn from various districts falling under the Central, North and South zones, ahead of the visit of the Chief Minister, who comes under the ‘Z Plus' category and who is a National Security Guard protectee.
An advanced security liaison meeting and a full security rehearsal is to be organised on the eve of the VVIP's visit to ensure that the bandobust arrangements are in place for the Chief Minister's first visit to Tiruchi in 2012.
A similar exercise was carried out on earlier occasions too in order to leave nothing to chance when the Chief Minister visited the city, which has witnessed VVIP and VIP movements many a times in the past couple of years. Prominent among the VVIP movement was the transit visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Tiruchi in December while on his way to Karaikudi to attend a function in that town.
A heightened security was put in place at the airport as the PM, who is protected by the elite Special Protection Group (SPG), arrived by a special flight and immediately left by a helicopter to Karaikudi and returned the same evening before departing for New Delhi. The route from the airport to the circuit house also came under enhanced security cover during those six hours.
Other VVIPs falling under the ‘Z Plus category' who visited the city in 2011 were Governor Rosaiah; Chief Minister Jayalalithaa; former Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi; Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram and former Deputy Chief Minister M.K.Stalin.
Police sources say security provided to high profile persons was classified under ‘X', ‘Y', ‘Z' and ‘Z Plus' categories adding that the scale of security depended on the position held, and threat perception of the individual dignitary.
Elaborate scheme is formulated for all those VVIPs coming under the ‘Z Plus' category and security provided as per the scale.
Much of planning is done before drawing up the elaborate security plan once the itinerary of the VVIP is known in advance.
Law enforcers will also have to maintain logistics, make proper accommodation for the strength drawn from outside districts, fix responsibility for every police officer and men involved in security duty and regulate traffic wherever required, says a senior police officer.
Advanced security liaison meeting with different agencies is conducted ahead of the VVIP visit. The overall objective is to ensure that nothing is left to chance and that there was no let up or lapse in security, he added.
