Jammu, September 7: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Jammu could become the first hospital in the country to receive armed security cover from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), with its location close to the India-Pakistan International Border being cited as a key security consideration, officials said.
The 226.84-acre hospital and medical college is located at Vijaypur in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba district, along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway-44, a few kilometres from the International Border.
The proposed deployment comes amid heightened security concerns in the Jammu region, which has witnessed cross-border attacks, militant incidents and infiltration attempts in recent years.
Sources in the security establishment told PTI that the Centre has planned armed security for the facility given the “sensitive” nature of its location near the IB.
The CISF is expected to be deployed at the AIIMS-Jammu campus, potentially making it the first hospital in the country to be brought under the permanent security cover of the central force, the sources said.
A security survey and manpower assessment for the proposed deployment are currently under way, they added.
The hospital was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2024.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has for years resisted deploying armed CISF personnel at hospitals, particularly after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, during which health facilities were among the targets.
According to officials, several hospitals had sought CISF protection after the 2008 attacks, but the proposals were not accepted following assessments of the potential threats to such institutions and the force’s limited manpower.
Hospitals, both government and private, also typically witness heavy footfall, making large-scale armed deployment a challenging proposition.
CISF personnel were, however, temporarily deployed at Kolkata’s R G Kar Hospital following a Supreme Court directive in August 2024 after the rape and murder of a doctor at the facility.
Unlike that temporary deployment, the proposed AIIMS-Jammu arrangement is expected to be a permanent CISF duty, officials said.
The CISF currently guards critical installations in sectors including space, nuclear energy and power, apart from airports, metro networks and other strategic infrastructure.
The force is also expected to take over security duties at Kolkata Metro, where 58 stations spread across 74 km are currently guarded by the Railway Protection Force.
If sanctioned, Kolkata Metro would become the second metro rail network in the country after Delhi Metro to come under CISF security, officials said.
The CISF is also expected to be deployed at Donyi Polo Airport at Hollongi in Arunachal Pradesh’s Papum Pare district. Chief Minister Pema Khandu recently referred to the proposed deployment in a social media post.
