Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada

Door-frame metal detectors, cameras mandatory: CP

PHOTO: Raju. V

Commissioner of Police K.V. Rajendranath Reddy addressing representatives of hotels, cinema halls and shopping malls at a meeting in Vijayawada on Monday. —

VIJAYAWADA: Hoteliers and owners of cinema halls and shopping malls were on Monday told to install door-frame metal detectors and security cameras as a precaution.

Police Commissioner K.V. Rajendranath Reddy, addressing a meeting with them, said surveillance systems should be put in place at all the entrances and around the entire compound wall to prevent extremist elements from smuggling in ammunition and explosives like they did in Mumbai.

Mr. Reddy listed several precautions that were required to ensure the safety of the public in cinema theatres, shopping malls and hotels in the wake of terror attacks. He urged the managements of these institutions to keep a close vigil on the parking lots to ensure that explosives were not left in vehicles.

In movie theatres, the staff should stop, for questioning, persons who were trying to leave the cinema hall in the middle of the show. They should also make frequent checks for abandoned bags that may contain explosives, he said. Mr. Reddy said the police would assist the managements of hotels, cinema halls and shopping malls by training their staff to maintain the required vigil.

When a hotelier asked if the police would be in a position to train the hotel staff in identifying RDX, Mr. Reddy did not mince words and said that it was the job of the police, not of a hotel employee, to identify RDX. The employees should, however, report all suspicious objects to the police. And, it was the duty of the police to identify if the objects were, indeed, bombs, and disarm them.

Mr. Reddy suggested that hoteliers introduce systems to restrict the movement of non-residents to the different parts of the hotels. Currently every person, who visited a star hotel, could go about without any restriction. The expenditure notwithstanding, all star hotels should go in for systems that restricted the movement of customers to respective areas of activity. This could be done by giving the customers computerised (punch) cards to access the areas closed to others.

The Commissioner said it would not be too much to ask hotels to purchase baggage scanners for the safety of their customers.

Mr. Reddy said installation of security cameras was mandatory. Some of the hotels had already installed cameras with good results.

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