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NEW DELHI: Miffed over recent incidents where CISF personnel were involved in public spats, the Director General (DG) of the force has asked his personnel to remain "polite and courteous" while dealing with the masses at places like the Delhi Metro and airports, adding "misbehaviour" would be viewed seriously.

The chief of the about 1.80-lakh personnel strong paramilitary also directed his commanders to organise special training sessions for the uniformed men and women of the force for acquiring soft skills like effective communication and courteous behaviour and to manage anger and stress.

DG Rajesh Ranjan recently wrote a letter to all his formation commanders which has been accessed by PTI and it comes in the backdrop of an incident where an alleged scuffle broke out between the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel and the station manager of a Delhi Metro station here last month.

"I would like to mention about few unfortunate incidents at DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) Delhi, wherein our men entered into an argument with the station controller which resulted in manhandling. Besides this, in another instance, our men manhandled a passenger at Kashmere Gate metro station.

"The bad publicity which follows such incidents not only partly negates the good work done by our personnel at the airports, DMRC and field units, but also bring adverse comments on the professionalism of the force," DG Ranjan said.

CISF, he said, is well known for maintaining harmonious relations with multiple stakeholders and passengers and it has earned the force a good reputation for excellent behaviour while carrying out security responsibilities.

"The responsibilities entrusted upon CISF entail an ever-increasing interface with public. In such a situation, it is extremely important to ensure that we remain polite and courteous to the members of the public, even in the face of provocation and stress.

"This aspect must be inculcated amongst the force members who should also be cautioned that any instance of misbehaviour, discourtesy and insensitive conduct would be viewed adversely," the DG wrote.

Ranjan also asked his commanders to hold "regular interactions" with the personnel under their command after it was recently reported that the "absence and suicidal death" of a sub-officer was detected only after 48 hours at a CISF camp in Rajasthan .

"This speaks poorly about the administration and non-existence of an effective communication and reporting system. Implementation of buddy system and proper monitoring of the unit personnel should be ensured.

"You (commanders) must also be sensitive towards genuine concerns of the personnel so that a healthy work environment prevails in the unit.

"A pro-active approach with a humane touch is absolutely imperative to create confidence in the men under your command to avoid such unfortunate incidents," the CISF boss said.

The DG asked young officers of the force to enhance their operational and administrative skills and ensure that the troops under their command are taken care of well.

"I reiterate that all officers and unit commanders personally must know the personnel in their units for better man-management. The merits, qualities and habits of the personnel should regularly be observed and known to their superior officers.

"Aberrations in behaviour, however minute, should not be ignored and appropriate action taken to avoid any unpleasant situation in the unit," Ranjan said.

The DG also asked his brass to tighten standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure that "accidental firing" incidents do not take place as such events speak "adversely" about the drills being followed at present by the force.

The force, raised in 1969, is tasked to guard 60 civil airports in the country apart from a number of sensitive and important establishments in the aerospace and nuclear domain among others.

