The Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) has finally dropped its plan to deploy armed guards at schools and shopping complexes. Instead, it is now planning to station unarmed ex-servicemen to provide security at key locations. After the December 2014 terror attack at the Army Public School at Peshawar Cantonment in Pakistan, the board planned to deploy armed ex-servicemen to guard the seven schools it runs. However, the plan hit a hurdle due to a recent state government resolution which prohibits the use of firearms by private security guards to protect commercial premises. “We will go ahead with a plan to recruit 39 unarmed guards, who will be ex-servicemen, for watch-and-ward services at our schools and shopping complexes. We will recruit ex-servicemen, because they can better deal with crisis situations,” Sanjeev Kumar, PCB’s chief executive officer said.
