Security beefed up for Assembly session

Hyderabad: A three-tier security arrangement has been chalked out by the State police department for the Assembly session that begins on Monday. According to sources at the DGP office, the security for Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will be handled by the Greyhound commandos.

Similarly, the security for Ministers and other VIPs will be provided by the officers from Telangana State Special Police. Meanwhile, the first line of defense will be the police officers and constables deputed from various police stations and they will be supported by the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and quick reaction teams stationed at crucial points.

The sources said apart from all these security arrangements, the officers and constables who are trained as spotters to identify potential threats from any source are to be deployed in civil uniform within a radius of 5 km of the Assembly. Also, the presence of traffic police has been enhanced and the traffic diversions along the route of VIP convoys in the city have been put under strict access control.

An officer from Special Branch on the condition of anonymity said that the security has been beefed up as there are intelligence reports suggesting that the opposition parties or their affiliate organisations might start a flash protest near the Assembly while the session is in progress, as a few days ago the members of NSUI protested before Pragati Bhavan without giving any notice to the police.

He further added, "Also the incident wherein a person who stood before the Pragati Bhavan holding a placard and questioning the presence of Chief Minister raised many eyebrows about the security arrangements near CM camp office. Moreover, there is also threat from Maoist organisations in few districts and the DGP of State police had to visit the affected areas to ease the tensions."