The elections are not grooming grounds just for budding politicians. The State Home Department is using the upcoming general elections as an opportunity to provide on-field training to the newly inducted Karnataka State Industrial Security Force (KSISF) officers by deploying them on security duty.
The first batch of 147 police sub-inspectors, including 14 women officers, who have been recruited and trained on par with the Central Industrial Security Force, will be getting field experience to handle security situations at different levels.
Though they have been put on a rigorous training module at the National Industrial Security Academy at Hyderabad, the field experience counts more for them to handle situations effectively, chief of the Internal Security Division, S. Murugan said.
“The first batch of officers who inducted into the force recently has been deputed to various wings of the ISD, including the anti-Naxal force and coastal security personnel. But providing security cover during elections will give them a different kind of exposure in handling situations as the KSISF is more focused on security than on law and order,” Mr. Murugan said.
This force, which has been raised to provide security cover among other things to vital installations, industrial establishments and other sensitive locations across the State, will be strengthened further with the addition of 1,400 constables who are currently undergoing training . There are around 200 vital installations and more than 1,000-feet high fall areas, besides 618 mega scale, IT and other industries and airports and sea ports across the State.
“We have already received over 140 requisitions from various government agencies seeking security cover. Though the demand is more and we have limited personnel, security deployment will be made on priority basis,” Mr. Murugan said.
The security cover provided by the force depends on the situation, ranging from individual to major installations, depending upon the area and the sensitivity. The officers who get experience doing election duty would help them a great deal, he said.
