As the nation remembers the Parliament attack 2001, 23 years since the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla along with several other Union Ministers paid floral tributes and honoured those who laid down their lives. CISF personnel offered salute or ‘salami’ at the venue after which a moment of silence was observed to mark the anniversary.
Security measures that were taken up after 2001 attack:
Several new protocols were introduced after the tragic attack that left eight security personnel dead. The security measures enforced included wedge barricades on all arterial roads leading to the Parliament, RF tags on cars, photo identity passes for visitors among others. One of the significant introductions was installation of CCTV cameras inside the parliament complex. Crowd control barricades in key corridors were also put.
“It was a complete overhaul of the security apparatus in the parliament complex,” a senior official who was part of the secretariat in 2001 said, reports said. Following the attack only three gates were kept open for authorised vehicles, the two gates used by terrorists to attack were closed.
Latest inclusions to heighten security in Parliament:
Recently, handheld explosive vapour detectors were also placed at all Parliament gates and electric fencing was put up along the outer perimeter. CRPF watchtowers were erected along Red Cross Road and Raisina Road.
A sniffer dog squad was also developed for an additional layer of security.
Aftermath of the 2001 Parliament attack
In the aftermath of the Parliament attack, tensions between Indian and Pakistani military forces heightened between 2001 and 2002. The period also witnessed significant deployment of troops along the Line of Control. The attack was carried out by five armed terrorists but personnel from Parliament Security Service, CRPF and Delhi Police foiled the attack as no terrorist was able to enter the building. Six Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament Security Service personnel, a gardener and a TV video journalist were killed in the attack.
All five terrorists were gunned down in the forecourt of the then Parliament building.
