Massive security presence at Messi match venue
September 2nd, 2011 - 7:47 pm ICT by IANSKolkata, Sep 2 (IANS) The sprawling Salt Lake stadium swarmed with police personnel and private agency people Friday as security was at an all-time high at the venue hosting India’s first ever FIFA international friendly between Lionel Messi-led Argentina and Venezuela.
Spectators underwent multi-layer security checking but the police personnel were polite and smiling.
Plainclothes policemen and intelligence sleuths were on high alert, besides a higher number of women police constables and officers were present than on earlier occasions. The playing arena was enveloped in a three-layer security ring comprising 5,000 armed police personnel. A contingent of over 2,000 combat police and Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel has been entrusted the task of crowd management, said a police officer.
The team buses and the players were escorted into the stadium from their respective hotels by special commando units. The personal security to the players was provided by a team of 250 commandos specially picked for the purpose.
Dog-squads, anti-sabotage teams and communication experts kept a tight vigil across the stadium area. The spectators had to go through metal detectors and pat-down checking before they entered the venue. State-of-the-art metal detectors were put up at the entrance and exits.
CCTV cameras and other modern gadgets were installed in and around the stadium.
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Tags: armed police, art metal, combat police, commando units, commandos, communication experts, crowd management, layer security, lionel messi, metal detectors, personal security, police constables, policemen, private agency, sabotage, security presence, sleuths, spectators, vigil, women police