Govt to use pvt security guards for intelligence gathering

New Delhi, Nov 25 (UNI) In a bid to control the growing number of terrorist acts, the center is expected to come out with a mechanism in next three to four months, which will utilise over 50 lakh private security guards for intelligence gathering from across the country.

At present, the Rs 21,000-crore Security Industry has over 15,000 agencies pan-India with a total strength of over 50 lakh people and a growth rate of 25 per cent per year.

''We have presented a mechanism to the government which is being considered. We hope in the next three to four months, the mechanism will start functioning,'' Central Association of Private Security Industry Chairman Kunwar Vikram Singh told UNI here prior to the start of the second national conference titled 'Youth for Safe India'.

The two-day conference, to be organised by CAPSI and the Association of Private Detectives and Investigators (APDI), will be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil tomorrow.

Mr Singh said the association has offered a proposal to the Home Ministry to utilise its vast human resources for intelligence gathering for security.

''We have received a very good response from the government,'' he said, adding that the government has now understood the potential of the security industry.

He said the government had passed the Private Detective Agencies Regulation Bill in the Rajya Sabha which was now with the Standing Committee of Parliament.

''We have already given our case to the Committee and expect it to be enacted in the next session of Parliament,'' Mr Singh said, adding that the government wants to pass the Bill before implementing a mechanism under which private security can help in intelligence gathering.

The Private Detective Agencies Regulation Bill, if passed, will allow only those detectives to participate in the exercise who have a valid licence.

Under the mechanism, every security agency will have a nodal officer who will pass the information gathered from the security guards present at different locations across the country to the government intelligence bureau, the CAPSI Chairman said.

Last year, Parliament had rolled out the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act. Under a clause of this Act, a security guard has to have a training of 160 hours, Mr Singh said.

There is a need for atleast 10,000-20,000 such training institutes and can open huge career avenues across the country.

UNI