Shah Rukh Khan: Guard shield

Priyanka Vadra: Security issues

Twelve men in uniform around the stage and a security ring under an assistant commissioner of police — Shah Rukh Khan does not come under any category of security, but protected he will be when he does a star turn at Eden Gardens on Sunday.

With just more than a day left for the first IPL home game of Kolkata Knight Riders, the blueprint for security has been laid. And for a change, it’s not only about Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting or David Hussey.

The Bollywood badshah, for one, will have a posse of policeman surrounding him, in addition to his own guards. The security shield will extend to other Bollywood biggies who will accompany Shah Rukh, and Priyanka Vadra and Rahul Gandhi, if they drop in.

“A team of National Security Guards (NSG) are likely to fly in on Saturday to take charge of the security of Priyanka and Rahul. We would arrange for a few of our officers to liaise with them. According to our information, the two may leave right after the match or early on Monday,” said a senior officer of Calcutta police.

“The NSG is likely to bring in its own bullet-proof cars for Priyanka and Rahul,” he added.

With about 400 men in plainclothes and 4,500 in uniform, the three-tier security cordon at Eden Gardens will extend from the gate to the seats in the stadium. The path to the dressing room will be sterilised with seven officers standing guard. Even the players’ journey to the stadium will be under the keen eyes of two escort teams at the front and back of the team bus.

Plus, there will be a liaison officer inside each bus.

Each block in the stadium has been divided into upper and lower tiers and three officers have been earmarked for each tier. Besides, there will be plainclothesman in each stand.

The stadium has been divided into different sectors, with an IPS officer in charge of each. “We are not taking chances. The organisers will use laser guns to check tickets, but only after the ticket-holder has been allowed in by the police,” said commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti, after a round of the stadium with senior officers on Friday afternoon.

With the teams slated to practise on Saturday afternoon, copies of the commissioner’s security plan was handed over to the detective department, special branch, reserve force and armed police in the evening.