Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil demands CISF deployment at Shirdi temple

Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil has written a letter to the Union Home Ministry requesting to hand over Sai Baba temple's security to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

There is a threat to the famous shrine from the terrorists since the past eight years and present police security as wellas temple's private security is inadequate, Vikhe-Patil, who is the MLA from Shirdi Assembly constituency, said here yesterday.

It has been observed that proper checking is not being done by the security men at the entrance gates and even the CCTV cameras installed in the premises are not being properly monitored, he said.

Considering the heavy rush of devotees, with nearly two crore people from all over India and abroad visiting the shrine annually, proper security like CISF is required, the minister said.

It has been noted that the present security men sometimes indulge in altercation with devotees and allow them to carry mobile phones inside the temple premises, he added.

According to Shirdi Sansthan trust's executive officer Kishor More there are 44 policemen deployed for temple security at a time, including 15 armed police personnel at its five gates and 12 Rapid Action Force jawans.

The trust at present has 787 security employees, including 44 policemen, More added.

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