Police urges cinema halls to beef up security

With the threat of a terrorist strike being high, the Bangalore city police have decided to issue show-cause notices to cinema halls which have failed to incorporate security features like installation of close circuit television (CCTV) cameras and door frame metal detectors.

Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Bipin Gopalkrishna said: "Cinema halls and malls are a few places which draw people in large numbers. We do not want to compromise on the security-related issues at these places. Cinema halls which have not installed door frame metal detectors will be issued notices."

There are around 100 cinema halls in the city and nearly half of them have not put in place anti-terror measures.

The police, in fact, had worked out a security plan for all public places like shopping malls, multiplexes, theatres, bus stations and markets in the city following the bomb blasts in Hyderabad's Lumbini Gardens and Gokul Chat areas a few months ago.

The police had held a meeting with movie exhibitors and office bearers of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) and had briefed the latter on the preventive measures to be followed.

The exhibitors were not only instructed to screen the viewers before letting them inside, but also to conduct searches for suspicious objects under the seats and in the toilets at the end of each show.

While some multiplexes have complied with the police directive, many cinema halls are yet to respond. "We do not want to take any chances, so we have decided to proceed legally against errant theatre owners," another police official said.

The recent arrest of over half-a dozen persons, suspected to be part of the terror network in the state, has forced the police to go on a security overdrive.