Private security agencies want govt to give them licence to deploy armed guards

Eleven months after the 26/11 attacks, around 17 private security agencies have applied for arms licences twice the number of those who sought them before the terror attacks.
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But private players complain they aren't given enough leeway by the government.

Topsgrup, a private security company, currently deploys 73 people at the international airport. But its officers who guard the periphery of the premises are not allowed to carry arms.

"We deployed better trained people after 26/11, but we still cannot arm them. This is a policy that the government needs to work on.

Obviously, if someone's coming at you with an AK-47, there's little that you can do, but our commandos are trained to detect such threats and to bring them to the closest armed guard at the airport from the CISF," said Ramesh Iyer, MD, Topsgrup India.

Similarly, A K Singh, COO of Secure 24, said the demand for armed guards has increased 100 per cent over the last year.
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Duniya Ki Tha Tha Tha: Private security agencies say their men need arms, as people feel safer when there is a u00a0gun-toting guard around.