Anti-aircraft guns to guard Barack Obama at Rajpath parade

The security protocol of US President Barack Obama is all set to be drastically changed, perhaps for the first time, ahead of the Republic Day parade here later this month. Security guidelines mandate that the US President does not spend more than 20 minutes at any open-air venue, but he will be spending almost two and a half hours on Rajpath for the parade on January 26, where he is the chief guest.

An advance team of the US Secret Service, which is now here to coordinate with security and intelligence agencies has insisted that anti-aircraft guns be installed at all high-rise buildings in and around Rajpath to ensure foolproof security for Mr Obama. The Indian security agencies have agreed to this, and are now conducting a detailed survey to determine where anti-aircraft guns and other surveillance equipment can be installed.

The US Secret Service has also insisted that all buildings around the Republic Day parade venue should be manned by its own rooftop teams, which is a highly specialised unit that docuses on aerial surveillance.

A senior security official noted that the US President will be making a big departure from standard practice by remaining in the open for much longer than the usual 20 to 22 minutes.