[amit]

Post the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, security at public places was expected to be tightened but has it actually been done? Malls and multiplexes seem to be the most obvious 'high risk' places but at least in Navi Mumbai the security seems pretty lax to me.

1.) Center One Mall: The worst in security currently. Since the parking lot is outside the mall, none of the cars are checked for anything. Seems like a cakewalk for a car or God forbid, a couple of cars to be fully laden with RDX and parked out there. As we know, even if a car is parked some distance away, it can cause HUGE damage if it's laden with the deadly RDX. God knows what these people are thinking. When we enter the mall, there is the metal detector and after you walk through it you are again frisked with a hand held metal detector.

Women are never frisked.

2.) Raghuleela Mall: Bonnet and boot are opened. No underbody or insides check. The usual metal detector and frisking happens when you walk in.

Women are never frisked.

3.) Galleria Mall: No underbody, insides and bonnet check. Only boot is opened.

Again, women are never frisked.

4.) InOrbit Mall: The best security drill among Navi Mumbai malls. Bonnet, boot and underbody are checked. They even ask you to open your windows and check the insides and the glovebox. Thats when I asked the guys what if I am a suicide bomber wearing a belt laden with explosives? I was told that tight frisking would happen at the main entry too. At the entry, you are asked to empty out your pockets and keep the contents in a plastic tray and asked to walk through the metal detector. Frisking happens after you are through the metal detector.

Women are never frisked.

I have noticed that women are never checked or frisked across all malls here. Women's bags are checked but they personally aren't. Haven't these guys heard of female suicide bombers? I am this close to making an issue over this with the security guys. The next time it happens, I plan to walk out too but this is happening across malls. Why is it that women are not being checked and frisked? Seems like either the security guys have been given a directive about this by the management or that the female security personnel just don't care. Or do they believe that women can't carry weapons on them so checking of women's bags is enough to ensure security? Does a similar thing happen at malls in other cities too?

It's high time we started asking questions and demanding things to be done to our satisfaction. Our government and agencies (even private ones) are notorious for letting their guard down to easily.

Going by what I have seen, a potential terrorist conducting a recee should by now know who to use to get weapons or bombs unchecked inside the malls.

[aaggoswami]

At Inox, we took my friend's Zen and let me tell you that they can come in with a car filled with RDX, park the car, go for a movie or just get away from the scene. They can even park the car outside of compound and can blast the thing off. Very easy.

[Bubby]

Guys i feel this is not the right place or forum to share our own lapses.

Lets only share the positives you have.

This is not a secured network and anyone ( i hope you understand ) can get some easy information and use it to there advantage after reading the details that you guys are providing.

No offences, but i just got a bit concerned after reading all this.

[hemanthisgreat]

@bubby, I too felt the same. It is as if we are reviewing the security situation and providing details about targets. Lets stop this.

[ECM]

yes delete this thread please.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by Bubby

Guys i feel this is not the right place or forum to share our own lapses.

Dont be worried. There are better ways of getting to know the security arrangements in a mall then following online forum discussions. Heck even the news channel show one incident of lack of security at important places around India, every other day.

I think this is good, spreads awareness and hopefully people start questioning the security where ever they go.

I had an altercation with the morons at Staples on ORR in bangalore for the same very reasons.

For woman not frisked: They do get frisked at one mall in Bangalore. The one i have gone recently was in Total off old airport road. They checked the contents of the purse thorougly and also of the baby bag.

I think its a mindset that there will be no woman terrorists.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

I think its a mindset that there will be no woman terrorists.

Maybe the guy who designed the security system is a bachelor.

Why am I joking about such a serious topic.
Simple, The entire security checking in India is a JOKE.

[Amien]

I walked into a mall with a new external HDD(casing, wires, et al) i had just bought. On the outside, it's just a (rather suspicious) box.
I walk through the entrance, Security guy asks me "Yeh kya hai?"
Im like, "Hard Disk"
Security guy: "Kya?"
Me: "Arrey woh computer ka hai..."

He let's me enter straight away. Hope no terrorists are reading this...

:@

[amitoj]

EGL, mornings they will ask you to open the boot of the car, they will look under the hood, they will check ID of the driver.

After noon, only ID is asked for. I dont understand the logic. Threat exists only in the form of people who go to work on time??

Forum mall, they were even checking the glove compartments yesterday!!

[normally_crazy]

Nirmal Lifestyles @ Mulund.

Security is checking my car. In the next lane comes a Zen which is waved inside without stopping. I ask the guy - why ? He says it had a mall sticker (the ones that show that the guy has a shop in the mall)

I asked security to call his senior and then asked the senior - are you sure that a car with this mall's sticker will not carry explosives ? He had no answer and to rub salt into his wounds - the security guys let in a biker without checking.

I simply blasted the hell out of the guys, asked them if a biker cannot carry explosives in the side box ??

I also made a written complaint in their book.

Am going back on Friday - will check if any thing has changed.

[Rajesh Rawal]

I was in delhi last week ,and wanted to have a grub with my cousin at the maurya sheraton ,we guys reached there around 12.30 in the nite..

we were not allowed in saying people only having booked rooms would be allowed in post midnite.. no one else!

not sure if this a good security measure or not !

[aaggoswami]

Well the case is of my university i.e. Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara.
The security is literally zero. You can carry a gun and shoot whomsoever you want and leave. You can easily drive in a car laden fully with RDX and park in front of Security guards and leave from another gate.
Anyone can enter easily and create chaos. Its easy to carry weapon and even explosives. I thought that I hope MSU is not the next target. Its so easy that even 16-17 year old human being can do this.

We need to rethink. I told my friends that we must have ID cards as the minimum requirement to enter into premises. Let the form processing office be near to the entrance gates. You can enter those offices only with temporary pass you are handed when one shows that he/she is there really to give/take forms.

[Rajesh Rawal]

oh yes! forgot to mention this as well ,while flying out from hyd to delhi ,i was told i need to be 3 hrs early for the stepped up security measures at the airports!

i was there @ 9 am for my noon flight! my security check was over in 30 secs after i collected the boarding pass!

god knows why 3 hrs! i was spending rest of the time seeing off the other folks (equally frustrated of coming in early) take their respective flights!

[esteem_lover]

I guess we need a lot of education on what are security checks. For one, it certainly does not mean frisking each & every person at a mall or examining the under body of each car that passes through. There are intelligence agencies. There is so much of back work. Frisking shoppers is the end of the straw.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Frisking shoppers is the end of the straw.

Tragically and proven, we are at the end of the straw.