MillenniumPost
Bengal

Post Hemtabad, Mamata's security to be strengthened

Kolkata: The state police have decided to further strengthen the security of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during public meetings in the wake of a recent incident at Hemtabad, Raiganj, in North Dinajpur on Thursday. Two sisters — Rabia and Amira Khatun — breached the Chief Minister's security and dashed towards the stage on which she was just winding up her speech. One of them wearing a saree was caught by security personnel and while all attention was focused on her, another woman in a churidar kameez jumped on the stage and fell at Banerjee's feet.
The Chief Minister gets a Z plus security that involves four zones. The security for the D zone which is the last lap of the Chief Minister's security is being reviewed with emphasis on trained male and female police personnel.
It may be mentioned that in the four-tier security of the Chief Minister, her personal special security guards are deployed within the D zone. The outside of the D zone is manned by state police personnel. "We have also decided to deploy more police personnel in and around the stairs or the ramp which the Chief Minister uses to get onto the stage. The number of metal detectors at the site of public meetings may also be increased," a senior official of the state police said.
The gap between the bamboos involved in making the barricade will also be reduced to prevent anybody sneaking through them and coming in close proximity to the Chief Minister. CCTV surveillance during such meetings will also be increased.
The two sisters on Thursday had crossed (the cordons) with such dexterity that the cops are not ruling out the possibility of both being instigated by some person or organisation. Rabia managed to dodge the guards to reach the podium and fall at Banerjee's feet while she was delivering her speech and Amira, the elder of the two, was intercepted near a ramp leading to the stage.
The security breach had annoyed Banerjee who prompted two separate inquiries, one by the state police chief and the other by the director (security) who oversees the Chief Minister's cover.
It may be mentioned that a police team visited the venue on Friday and recorded the statements of the cops who were on duty on Thursday. The sleuths are also quizzing the two sisters who are presently admitted at Raiganj District Hospital and their call records are also being scanned.
The sleuths have also come across inconsistencies in their statements. "At first, the girls told us that they had approached the Chief Minister to seek justice for the killing of their father Sk Mofijuddin in 2015 but later, they changed their version claiming that they had gone to seek jobs," a senior police official in the district said.
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