Security tightened for Parliament monsoon session

New Delhi, July 23: Even as the shadows of the Mumbai blasts are yet to wane, security agencies in the Capital, in the wake of prevailing 'threat perception', have given the 'most stringent cover' to Parliament for monsoon session beginning tomorrow.

Officials, refusing to be named, said sanitation of the Parliament and its periphery has been done ''more than twice'' with one more to follow. ''No chances are being taken in view of the July 11 serial blasts in Mumbai.'' On the 'special steps' taken, a senior police official said, ''Truly speaking, the security drill is all the same everytime, except for the frequency of checks and regularity in patrolling this time.'' However, this time the stress has been on the ''verification of personnel on duty'' to prevent any breach in the security apparatus, he said.

''More importantly this would keep at bay any 'sympathisers' of terror elements wanting to sneak through the chinks in the 'system'.'' Also, a thorough watch is being kept on all personnel on duty, irrespective of rank and file, he added.

Another official, involved in parliament security, on condition on anonymity said the keyword this time in the wake of intelligence inputs of ''threats in Delhi'' was patrolling.

The duration between two successive patrolling has been enhanced three-fold and number of personnel on each patrol increased to nearly one-and-a-half times. ''This was being done to strengthen individual capacity of each patrol which could tackle exigencies independently and for long before enforcements could arrive,'' said the official.

Even as the Parliament area being a VIP one commands maximum attention, additional force have been put on duty which would reduce ''metre ratio deployment'' of security personnel, he added.

Another senior police official said plainclothed security personnel have been deployed during this session.''This has been done as intelligence reports have warned of ''impending attacks'' in the Capital.'' For this the entire periphery of the Parliament and adjoining areas would be 'infested' with security personnel in civilian dress.

''However, they would be heavily armed but would be hardly discernable.'' Above all this, an internal alert, which is the normal practice at all VIP gatherings, has been sounded which makes the area 'almost banned' for those not on the list of ''allowed guests'', he added.

UNI