HIGH-LEVEL MEETING HELD TO BEEF UP SECURITY AT SECRETARIAT

LUCKNOW: A high-level meeting was held at Lok Bhawan to discuss the strengthening of security at secretariat complex on Wednesday. This comes two days after a personal secretary attemp ted suicide by shooting himself in his office in Bapu Bhawan of the secretariat complex.

According to a press statement issued by the home department the meeting was held on the directions of the chief minister. The meeting was held under the joint chairmanship of additional chief secretary, home Avnish Kumar Awasthi and additional chief secretary, secretariat administration Hemant Rao.

Additional director general of police, PAC, commissioner of police, Lucknow also attended the meeting. It was decided to form two committees that will submit a detailed report on the security equipment, resource manpower and its training.

Some of the proposals that were discussed include complete ban on bringing firearms in any building of the secretariat and declaring the entire area as no weapon zone. For the security of the secretariat, the co-operation of the newly formed special security force was also considered in the meeting. The security arrangements currently existing at the entrances of all the buildings in the secretariat will be made stricter. Under this, door frame metal detectors will be made more effective by arranging access control equipment like bag scanners. More discussions on the issue will be finalised in next meeting which was scheduled for next week.