CISF takes over security cover of Victoria Memorial in Kolkata; move to revamp surveillance system

Kolkata: The security of the iconic Victoria Memorial Hall in the city was on Monday handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The Victoria Memorial Hall, a magnificent makrana marble edifice built between 1906-1921 by Lord Curzon in memory of Queen Victoria, is a museum under the union ministry of culture. Built in the India-Saracenic style and incorporating Mughal elements, the museum houses a collection of rare and antique books and paintings. [caption id=“attachment_1694625” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata. AFP.[/caption] The museum secretary and curator Jayanta Sengupta said 30 CISF personnel took over the manning the gates of the sprawling grounds and guarding its boundary from this afternoon. “The handing over to CISF is part of the revamping of the surveillance system of the heritage Victoria Museum Hall and the museum authorities will bear the cost of the deployment of the personnel who will be armed with all modern surveillance equipment,” Sengupta said. The museum authorities will also bear the salary bill of the deployed personnel, he said. Issues like accommodation of the personnel were recently solved at the intervention of the culture ministry, which was keen that the paramilitary force was deployed at the earliest, he said. In 2004 after the theft of Tagore’s Nobel medallion from Visva-Bharati and a fifth-century Buddha bust from Indian Museum, a PIL had been filed in Supreme Court highlighting the security lacunae of museums. On 15 February, 2015, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre to take steps to bolster security.