INDIA 360 | VIPS PRIVILEGES
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Are VIPs misusing security privileges?
Published on Fri, Apr 20, 2007 at 03:24, Updated on Mon, Jun 18, 2007 at 12:38 in Nation section
Tags: India 360, Airport Security
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A Member of Parliament is in custody – accused of violating security and immigration laws. Is India’s VIP culture destroying crucial security procedures? Is it necessary that airports be freed from VIP syndrome?
BJP MP Babubhai Katara is now in jail and it’s becoming increasingly clear that Babubhai Katara case is a part of much larger immigration racket.
Former Advisor to DGCA Denzil Keelor joins the discussion on CNN-IBN’s show India 360 with host Sagarika Ghose to argue -
Are VIPs misusing their airport security privileges?
VIPs over security
Keelor things airports should stop giving special privileges to VIPs but said, “It will be very difficult to implement”. Because when a person becomes VIP, the first thing he does is start seeking this type of privileges as a sort of prestige issue for himself. Even if they join a club, they disregard the rules and regulations of the club. So it is a deep-rooted ethos in our country.
“And inspite of the tight computerised system, which has been installed, it is these privileges, which is given to these people where the system is bypassed for one particular reason or another, and then it results in these type of breach, which we have witnessed,” added Keelor.
VIPs reign supreme
Disagreeing the fact that use private securities instead of CISF at airports would improve the situation, Keelor said, “No, the VIPs reign supreme in all conditions”.
Giving the example of pilots where they also took long time to recon with the idea that they themselves should also undergo security check even though they are the pilots of the aircraft, Keelor said, “This is something, which should come from the top, where VIPs should be made to do this and it is not difficult to implement in long run”.
Agreeing that VIPs should undergo regular immigration check as they are only exempted from pre-embarking security checks, Keelor said, “They should go through, but again once the networking is established, then you can seek more and more privileges and that’s how this comes about”.
Security breach
On the apprehension that, due to involvement of so much money in the immigration racket, the network of the racket may be large enough that by paying money to immigration staff, one can get through the security system without a passport, Keelor said, “There are two types – the VIP, who seeks privileges for the sake of a privilege. And for them it works in this particular fashion. But where the gangster culture is there, then it is very difficult to stop because he is resorting to much more serious violations, which require much more serious cooperation from people. And consequences of which are much greater.”
So, VIPs should not be categorised with the gangster, “that should be kept apart,” added Keelor.
Raising concern over the fact that terrorists may also use VIP links apart from illegal immigrants, Keelor said, “That’s why there should be no concession for everybody and there should be red alert condition from the start to scratch, so that at no stage is anybody allowed to violate the security cordon, which is laid down. You have to settle it on the ground and not on the aircraft.”
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