The Israeli PM will be in India on a six-day visit starting Sunday, and security agencies have put elaborate systems in place to ensure his safety.
New Delhi: Special arrangements have been made for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s six-day visit to India, including a seven-layer security ring, heavy commando deployment, a special unit to monitor kitchen supplies, as well as telecommunication control that’s likely to cause some disruption to citizens.
Netanyahu will reach New Delhi Sunday along with a full component of Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, and members of Yamas, Israel’s undercover special counter-terrorism unit. Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman, who is responsible for his security on all foreign trips, will be accompanying the Prime Minister. Argaman will be in charge of the security of the entire floor of the Taj Diplomatic Enclave at Sardar Patel Marg, where the Netanyahu will be staying, sources said.
“Security will be beefed up across Delhi with pickets and barricades at important intersections, commandos deployed at strategic locations, bomb disposal squads, and trained sniffer dogs on standby. It will be a multi-level security ring, which will include personnel from the paramilitaries and local police for a ground to air security drill,” a senior police officer told ThePrint.
Emphasis will be laid on the control of telecommunications (which may lead to call drops); there will be control of all radio frequencies, Internet of things, as well as satellite eclipsing. There will also be strict monitoring of kitchen supplies and even room service for Netanyahu, for which a special team has been constituted, sources said.
“These measures have been taken keeping in mind the threat perceptions and inputs from security agencies. A separate unit will look after the supplies being made available to the hotel’s kitchen for him,” a source said.
AWACS (airborne early warning and control system), a radar picket system designed to detect aircraft, missiles and vehicles at long ranges even in poor weather conditions, will also monitor air space around Rajpath and other strategic locations. The system can also identify low flying objects, including small drones, which go undetected by normal radars.
The police will also keep a check on high rises in the New Delhi area and in the vicinity of Rajpath, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament and the Prime Minister’s house. A list of 92 such buildings has been made, sources said. A multi-agency control room will also monitor the surveillance operations across Delhi and snipers be will be deployed on high rises for additional security.
Sources told ThePrint that Netanyahu will be travelling in a cavalcade of 12 vehicles when he visits the Prime Minister’s residence and Rashtrapati Bhavan on the first day of his visit. He is also expected to travel to Agra for a short visit, before heading to Mumbai and Ahmedabad, where he and Indian counterpart Narendra Modi are expected to launch some projects.
“He will participate in an Indo-Israeli CEOs’ meet and address the Raisina Dialogue Series in Delhi. In Mumbai, he is expected to meet a few business heads,” a source said.