When Prez Obama was stuck in car in Mumbai, Police had held up clearance to his cavalcade for 11 minutes owing to a dispute over security arrangements during his visit in 2010

Dr Khushalchand Baheti

Aurangabad, Jan 11: Sensation prevailed recently when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was stuck in a car for 20 minutes in Punjab. However, many are not aware that in 2010 the world’s most powerful man was made to wait in his car for 11 minutes in Mumbai by a DCP.

On an India visit, the then US President Barack Obama was scheduled to visit St Xavier’s College premises on November 7, 2010. The US security agents were assigned for inner cordon security of the VVIP while the Mumbai Police were tasked for the outer cordon. The conflict between the US security and the Mumbai Police sparked a day earlier of Obama’s visit to St Xavier’s when the US security agents deployed their door frame in the building of the college. This was strongly objected to by incharge of bandobast and the then Mumbai DCP MK Mallikarjun Prasanna. He asked the US personnel to remove it and ensured it was replaced with the Door Frame Metal Detector of the Mumbai Police.

On the day of the actual visit around 10.30 am, Prasanna noticed US snipers on the towers of a nearby building. This deployment was totally in violation of the protocol and earlier decided security strategy. Prasanna objected to their deployment and asked them to get down. On refusal, Prasanna took out his weapon and asked the US personnel to leave the premises. The US snipers also trained their weapons at Prasanna. On receiving this information and sensing escalation of the matter, Mumbai Commissioner of Police (CP) Sanjeev Dayal rushed to St Xavier’s.

Meantime, President Obama had boarded the vehicle to leave for the visit but Prasanna and Dayal did not allow the cavalcade to proceed till the matter was sorted out. Dayal contacted a top-ranked US security personnel who reluctantly but owing to rule book agreed with the point raised by Prasanna and assured to pass instructions to his men on the building.

Prasanna then literally took a team of armed personnel of QRT and brought down teams of the US snipers from all the towers at St Xavier’s. After this only, a clearance for the movement for Obama’s cavalcade was signaled. Meanwhile, Obama was required to sit in the car surrounded by the US security staff with guns in hand and fingers on trigger.

If Americans deploy their personnel for outer cordon area security, then the message in international community would be Indians are unable to protect VIPs in their nation. Outer cordon security is mandate for the state police as a rule. This was explanation to the episode before the Mumbai CP.

BOX :

KM Mallikarjun Prasanna is presently Special Inspector General Of Police Aurangabad. When contacted, he refused to talk on this subject.