The State police has given its approval to raise a dedicated battalion of 1,350 personnel of Karnataka State Industrial Security Force (KSISF) for providing security cover to Namma Metro. This has been a long-standing demand of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL). A senior police official clarified that the approval was in no way linked to the recent security scare at metro stations, and that the order came two weeks before the incident.
A security audit of Namma Metro stations had put the requirement of security personnel at over 1,000, which KSISF was not able to meet due to staff crunch. Personnel were being drawn from City Armed Reserve, District Armed Reserve and Karnataka State Reserve Police forces.
The entire cost of the additional battalion will be borne by BMRCL. Led by a commandant, it will have 1,018 constables. Sources in the police department said work will soon begin to directly recruit personnel, who will be trained before being deployed in metro stations. The metro is expected to have a dedicated security force by early next year, sources said.
