Kerala: The National Security Guard (NSG), the country’s elite special force, is likely to be deployed at Sabarimala during this pilgrimage season.
The State police have sought their temporary stationing at the hill shrine as part of the law enforcement’s proactive approach to potential extremist threats to the iconic temple, which draws lakhs of pilgrims annually.
The police said that against the backdrop of the global terrorist threat they could not discount intelligence report, credible but low on specifics, that ultras could use forest routes to assail the shrine or pilgrim groups.
In such an eventuality, they said the NSG would be the tip of the law enforcement’s pre-emptive and counter strikes. The Thunderbolts, the Special Weapons and Tactics Team of the Kerala Police, would work alongside the NSG.
The Indian Air Force would deploy at least two MI-17 V-5 gunships to fly low-level aerial reconnaissance and surveillance sorties over Sabarimala from the naval base in Kochi. The NSG preferred the MI as its platform for airborne operations.
The police said they had before them the daunting task of striking a balance between the compulsions of tradition, such as allowing pilgrims to carry “irumudikettu” offering into the inner sanctum and mitigating the modern day security threats to the high-profile temple without inconveniencing the devotees.
A team led by Inspector General of Police Manoj Abraham has done a security audit of Sabarimala to detect surveillance “blind spots” and potential stampede risks. He has requisitioned a platoon of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and streamlined pilgrim movement through barricades for better use of shelters for crowd management.
He has proposed encouraging pilgrims to book their temple visit in advance on the law enforcement’s Sabarimala virtual q portal for “comfortable darshan”. Last year, 17 lakh pilgrims registered through the portal. It has helped the police better optimise their deployment.