The baggage scanner at the entrance to the Mumbai Police Headquarters in Crawford Market has been defunct for more than a year.
The Commissionerate Compound houses the offices of the Mumbai Police Commissioner, the Crime Branch headquarters, offices of four Joint Commissioners of Police, the head office of the Economic Offences Wing and several other units.
The delay in repairing the baggage scanner comes at a time when the threat of terror is growing. In early 2016, Central and State agencies arrested several accused across the country, including from Mumbai and Thane, for allegedly planning terror strikes at the behest of Islamic State handlers. Last month, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terorrism Squad arrested two Mumbai residents allegedly working for Pakistan’s Inter-services Intelligence.
The baggage scanner is one of the many security measures in place at the police headquarters, which is guarded by armed personnel and a Marksman combat vehicle. Police officials said the scanner was installed to screen the luggage of visitors, but it broke down in mid-2015 and a request to repair it was made immediately. Subsequent meetings with the supplier indicated that some parts in the machine had become old and had to be replaced.
“Since then, the machine has only been working in spurts for a few days before shutting down again. We are instructed to make an entry at the register saying that it is out of order and to manually check the baggage of all visitors, and this has been going on for several months,” said one of the police officers in charge of security checks at the entrance.
Another officer said that manual checking was adding to the time taken to clear each visitor, and resulting in long lines at the entrance during peak hours, creating confusion. A large number of civilians visit the Commissionerate compound on a daily basis, and most of them carry a handbag, shoulder bag or backpack.
“Irrespective of the size or number of compartments in each bag, we have to subject each bag to a detailed check. On several occasions, visitors get impatient and get into arguments, and this distracts us from the main objective of screening visitors before letting them in. On our part, we can not take any chances as we will face action if someone is caught with so much as a razor once inside the compound,” the officer said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Protection) Vinayak Deshmukh said, “The issue is being handled on a priority basis. We had a word with the supplier just two days ago and the machine should be up and running in a few days.”
