Security deployment is 'adequate' at Delhi's Red Fort: Govt

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Security is "adequate" at Delhi's Red Fort and it is guarded by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Tourism and Culture Minister Prahlad Patel said on Tuesday over the issue of protesting farmers storming the monument on January 26.

Responding to a query in Rajya Sabha which raised the January 26 incident and asked if security for the site has been outsourced, the minister said while the Red Fort and other monuments like the Taj Mahal are guarded by CISF, there are others where security has been outsourced to private parties.

"For security of Red Fort, Delhi, and Taj Mahal, Agra, the Archaeological Survey of India has engaged Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). For the security of other centrally protected monuments, private security agency is engaged, following due process," he said.

"Security deployment at Red Fort, Delhi, is adequate," Patel said in response to another query.

The minister also listed monuments which are guarded by private agencies.

The presence of private security guards can be seen mostly in the northern region. There are 1,231 guards in the zone 596 CISF personnel and 635 private guards. Of the private security guards, 99 are armed.

In the eastern region, there are 319 private guards, of whom 80 are armed, while in the western region, there are 526 such guards, 47 of whom are armed.

The southern region has 529 private guards, of whom 147 are armed, while in the central zone, there are 276 guards and 50 of them are armed.