North civic schools to hire private security guards

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) is all set to hire private security agencies to guard the schools run by the civic body. The move comes in the wake of Civil Defence and the Home Guards refusing to provide security to lakhs of school children, according to a senior NDMC official.

All formalities to hire the private agency have been completed and the tender process will commence next week, said the official.  The decision follows the refusal of revenue department of Delhi government to provide 568 Civil Defence personnel despite three months of negotiations, and the reluctance of the Home Guards.

“We had planned to deploy one Civil Defence person in each of our schools. But despite three months of deliberations, the government refused to provide the force. Consequently we approached the Home Guards, but in vain. Home Guard personnel are trained in operating arms and their presence in khaki would have instilled a sense of security,” said the official. A list of all NDMC schools with names of their principals was also sent to the revenue department for the purpose.

The civic body had also asked the Delhi Police to identify sensitive and vulnerable sites near the schools to keep a tab on any suspicious activity inside and surrounding the school premises. Following the alleged rape incident in a Mangolpuri school, the civic body had also decided to strengthen the security apparatus in the schools. This included installing CCTV cameras in the schools, raising the height of boundary walls with iron grills and barbed wire fencing, and deployment of school attendants and guards. Officials said, at present the schools of NDMC are guarded by a school attendant and a chowkidar.

Source:http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1881902/report-north-civic-schools-to-hire-private-security-guards

Tourists to India hiring bodyguards for protection

Western visitors and local business people join the super-rich in acquiring greater security after a series of violent attacks

Security personnel surround pop star Madonna during her visit to Mumbai in 2008. Photograph: Arko Datta/REUTERS

A growing number of Indians and tourists visiting the country are hiring bodyguards for protection after a series of violent attacks. Security agencies say business is booming as western visitors and local business people join celebrities and the super-rich in acquiring greater security.

"We get a lot of calls for personal security officers, often at 2 or 3am, from western business executives or people from west Asia," said Anubhav Khiwani, co-owner of Denetim Services, a newly established company in Delhi. "Once or twice a month a single woman or a holidaying family will also ask for a bodyguard."

Until now these bodyguards were mainly seen accompanying international celebrities. Last year three of Oprah Winfrey's escorts made news when they were picked up by police near Delhi for attacking photographers.

"The gang-rape of a physiotherapist in Delhi last December impacted the psyche of people across the world. A friend from Brazil, for instance, had to cancel her trip to India as her mother wouldn't let her go. So now we see two kinds of tourists, especially among women − those who feel that such things happen everywhere and don't worry about it, and those who are scared and want to avoid trouble," said Khiwani.

Shaleni Nigam, a 44-year-old Canadian tax accountant, used to feel safe travelling alone in India, but plans to hire a bodyguard for her next visit.

"What's worrying is that attacks on women seem to be taking place in routine situations − in a bus, in a hotel room, near a village," she said. "I know such attacks occur in other countries too, but it's a different world in India today than it was in the 1990s. A foreign visitor wasn't targeted in the same way."

Source:  http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/23/tourists-to-india-hire-bodyguards

Foreign Tourists take Guard in India

After the recent spate of horrific, widely reported sexual crimes — from the Nirbhaya case in December last year to the rape of a Swiss tourist in March — foreign travellers are becoming rather incredulous about Incredible India.

Visitors are now coming armed not just with pointand-shoot cameras, but also bodyguards trained to do the same.

The last time 44-year-old Canadian-Indian Shaleni Nigam visited India was in 2008. She was confident then of travelling alone to visit her family in Kanpur and taking the train everywhere.

“But the gang rape in Delhi was terrifying and a couple of months ago, I read about the British tourist who had to jump out of her hotel window because the hotel manager was harassing her. That got me thinking about hiring a bodyguard for my trip this year,” says Nigam, who is looking for a female bodyguard.

Anuraag Singh, COO of security operations at Delhi’s Secura Security Solutions, says tourists are nervous enough to cough up around Rs 9,000 a day plus expenses for the services of an Englishspeaking licensed-to-shoot bodyguard.

Terror, isolated locales top fear factors Their fears range from terrorist attacks and cultural and religious minefields to hostile weather conditions and isolated locales. His company’s close protection officers are trained in special driving techniques, emergency first aid and etiquette.

Most of his clients are from the US and UK. “Many are high net-worth individuals who demand tight security services for their families, whether they are here for a destination wedding, a hiking trip to Ladakh, a visit to a fort in Jaipur or a beach vacation to Goa,” says Singh. “Though Goa is their favourite destination, it makes them especially jittery,” he adds.

Nimisha Ramesh, 27, who works with a Nevada-based IT firm, makes frequent trips to India, for both business and leisure.

“I don’t want to take any chances when I travel with a client, so I always take a bodyguard along. They are nervous because of the reports they have read about tourists being harassed,” says Ramesh.

Anubhav Khiwani, managing partner, Denetim Services in Gurgaon, says his clientele is mostly European. “If their itinerary has a lot of highway time, tourists prefer to have a bodyguard in the car, especially one who can converse in the local language and English,” says Khiwani.

While some clients only require the bodyguard to stay with them during the day, there are others who are so nervous that they book an extra room in their hotel for round-the-clock protection.

Khiwani who started his company earlier this year says tourists travelling to destinations in the north like the Himalayas, Agra and Jaipur are most anxious about security.

Some companies like Secura have gone the extra mile by tying up with tour companies. “Our bodyguard team includes local tourist experts,” says Singh.

Source: http://www.nagalandpost.com/ChannelNews/National/NationalNews.aspx?news=TkVXUzEwMDA0MzU1Mw%3D%3D-W9dDe%2BwZ%2FXs%3D

Safety concerns make foreign tourists take guard in India

After the recent spate of horrific, widely reported sexual crimes — from the Nirbhaya case in December last year to the rape of a Swiss tourist in March — foreign travellers are becoming rather incredulous about Incredible India. Visitors are now coming armed not just with point-and-shoot cameras, but also bodyguards trained to do the same.

The last time 44-year-old Canadian-Indian Shaleni Nigam visited India was in 2008. She was confident then of travelling alone to visit her family in Kanpur and travelling on trains across the country.

"But the gang rape in Delhi was terrifying and a couple of months ago, I read about the British tourist who had to jump out of her hotel window because the hotel manager was harassing her. That got me thinking of hiring a bodyguard for my trip this year," says Nigam, who is looking for a female bodyguard.

Anuraag Singh, COO of security operations at New Delhi-based Secura Security Solutions, says that tourists are nervous enough to cough up up to Rs 9,000 a day plus expenses for the services of an English-speaking licensed-to-shoot bodyguard.

Fear of terror, isolated locales

Their fears range from terrorist attacks and cultural and religious minefields to hostile weather conditions and isolated locales. His company's close protection officers are trained in special driving techniques, emergency first aid and etiquette.

Most of his clients are from the US and UK. "Many are high net-worth individuals (HNIs) who demand tight security services for their families, whether they are here for a destination wedding, a hiking trip to Ladakh, a visit to a fort in Jaipur, or a beach vacation to Goa," says Singh. "Though Goa is their favourite destination, it makes them especially jittery," he adds.

Nimisha Ramesh, 27, who works with a Nevada-based IT firm, makes frequent trips to India, for both business and leisure. "I don't want to take any chances when I travel with a client, so I always take a bodyguard along. They are nervous because of the reports they have read about tourists being harassed," says Ramesh.

Anubhav Khiwani, managing partner, Denetim Services in Gurgaon, says his bodyguard requests come mostly from Europeans. "If their itinerary has a lot of highway time, tourists prefer to have a bodyguard in the car, especially one who can converse in the local language and English," says Khiwani.

While some clients only require the bodyguard to stay with them during the day, there are others who are so nervous that they book an extra room in their hotel for round-the-clock protection. Khiwani who started his company earlier this year says that tourists travelling to destinations in the north like the Himalayas, Agra and Jaipur are most anxious about security. 
Some companies like Secura have gone the extra mile by tying up with tour companies. "Our bodyguard team includes local tourist experts," says Singh.  

    Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Safety-concerns-make-foreign-tourists-take-guard-in-India/articleshow/21889675.cms

Oppressed: Private security guards protecting all but own interests...

He is the first person to greet us and open the door when we visit any mall, an ATM, a bank, a hotel or an office. And this person is always seen wearing a smile on his face. This man is a security guard, mostly spotted in a 'khaki' uniform. Ever thought what a guard earns for his 12-hour-a-day job. A pittance of Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 4,000 a month. 

 

Organisations hire guards from private security agencies. These agencies pay less than half the amount that they charge from their clients. 

 

A guard on a condition of anonymity said that he stands for 12 long hours (from 11 am to 11 pm) at the entrance of a mall and is paid just Rs. 3,000 per month. 

 

“We are made to sign a paper which stated that we would be paid a salary of Rs. 6,500, but we are paid less than half of it,” he added. 

 

Another elderly security guard posted at a monument in the city said, “I am paid Rs. 3,500 out of which, Rs. 350 is deducted as provident fund. It has been five years since I am with this agency. Once I needed the PF amount after my son’s demise, but they said there was nothing in my account. After my son’s death, I have six mouths to feed and meeting ends is hard for me with this small amount. They don’t pay the salary on time either.” 

 

He also said that he even had a word with the agency’s owner but he turned down his request stating that this might cost him the job.

 

However, security agency owners refute the charges of exploitation. 

 

Rajesh Shekhawat, owner of Leader Star Security Agency in Jaipur, said, “All this isn’t correct. No forgery is done in documents while hiring guards. We pay them good money. I don’t know about other agencies but I pay between Rs. 6,500 to Rs. 7,500 per month to every guard. They (guards) are told at the time of joining that they will be paid a particular sum of money.” 

 

A survey done in the year 2012 had revealed that none of the security guards receive more than Rs. 4,000 per month. There are more than 100 security agencies running in Jaipur and over 500 in whole of Rajasthan

Source: http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/RAJ-JPR-oppressed-private-security-men-guarding-all-but-own-interests-4328137-NOR.html

‘Training schools needed for pvt security guards’

 There is a need to impart training to private security guards through special schools, as their role is growing in guarding commercial establishments, offices, ATMs, companies and malls, according to Swaranjit Sen, former DGP of Andhra Pradesh and chief adviser to the AP Private Security Association.

He was addressing a security awareness programme, organised by the association here on Sunday. He said there was little awareness about the role played by security guards and they were not getting the respect due to them and they were also being denied fair wages.

“All these things should change and we should set up schools to train guards. There should be some minimum qualification for becoming a guard. There should be a degree course specifically for them. Their role is complementary to that of the police. In guarding properties and curbing crime, their role cannot be overemphasised,” he said. He said the general impression that ex-servicemen would make good security guards was also not correct. “We should take all necessary steps to produce efficient, reliable security guards and it also opens up many employment opportunities for the youth,” he added. Association State President C. Bhaskar Reddy said there were around 1,500 security agencies in the State employing four lakh guards. He said there were 1,20,000 police personnel in the State and the police force was grossly inadequate and, therefore, the role of private guards was all the more important.

The association was taking all steps to increase the skill levels of the guards. However, he regretted, “there is no respect for a security guard in society and the crucial role he/she plays.” He said the Union Government had enacted a special law for security guards and it was being implemented in 23 States and the AP Government should also take steps in that direction. Induction of new technology for foolproof security, employment of armed guards, recruitment and antecedents verification for private companies, and training were some of the key issues, he added. Referring to service tax, he said it was a major problem. “We are paying 12.3 per cent service tax on the salaries paid to security guards and the Government should consider our demand for waiver,” he said. V. Amarnath, Vice-President of the association, Lt. Col (Retd) K.S. Rao, Joint Secretary, D.S Reddy, Secretary, and others spoke.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/states/training-schools-needed-for-pvt-security-guards/article4963656.ece

Private security guards not chowkidars, says ex-DGP Swaranjit Sen

Retired Director General of Police Swaranjit Sen on Sunday said there was an urgent need to put an end to viewing private security guards as ‘chowkidars’ and mooted introduction of a degree course in security.

Stating that it was a highly specialised field, he told a regional conference of Andhra Pradesh Private Security Association (APPSA) here that steps should be taken to make them efficient and professional to supplement the effort of the police and paramilitary forces. On his proposal to introduce degree course in security, he said for those selected for recruitment in police department need not go for a time-taking training programme if they could obtain such a qualification before their induction. Mr. Sen, who is the chief advisor to APPSA, said he had already spoken to the Home Secretary and he had promised to amend the Andhra Pradesh Private Securities (Regulation) Rules, 2008. The country had 75 lakh employees engaged in private security and hence they deserved much better treatment. He said due to changing scenario, the security arena had emerged as highly challenging. APPSA president C. Bhaskar Reddy said the association was trying to sensitise the promoters of security agencies to give decent wages and statutory benefits like provident fund and ESI and recruit freshers after training them properly.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/private-security-guards-not-chowkidars-says-exdgp-swaranjit-sen/article4966088.ece