The CISF has taken over security of the Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) to secure the facility against any terrorist attack or sabotage attempts, a senior officer said Thursday.
The induction of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) team took place on Wednesday at the NIV campus situated on Dr Ambedkar Road in the presence of officials and staff of the institute and the central paramilitary force, he said.
The CISF, an armed force under the Union home ministry, guards 68 civil airports and various vital installations in the aerospace and nuclear domain.
”In the light of the increased threat perception to biotechnology companies situated across the country, ICMR-NIV is inherently vulnerable to threats from anti-nationals and saboteurs. The CISF will provide round-the-clock armed security cover to the ICMR-NIV in Pune,” a CISF spokesperson said.
The NIV is one of the major institutes of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
”It is government’s apex research body and focuses on research on animal and human infections and the role of the environment. It led the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic from the front and also developed the vaccine named Covaxin,” the spokesperson said.
The research areas of NIV include cell repository, electron microscopy, rickettsioses, hepatitis, influenza and related viruses, clinical virology, biochemistry, virus registry, and biostatistics.
The CISF squad, headed by an inspector rank official, will provide a counter-terrorist cover and will control access to the facility.
