At a time when the Supreme Court is seeking to rationalise the security cover at State expense to the so-called VIPs, the Union Home Ministry continues to saddle the CRPF with increasing number of individuals for protection causing inconvenience to the common man.
While the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), mandated to protect individuals and installations, has been tasked with the responsibility of guarding 44 VIPs, the Central Reserve Police Force has been assigned protection of 30 such persons — including private individuals like RIl chairman Mukesh Ambani and Cobra Post Editor Anirudha Bahal.
The list of protectees also includes Mohammad Naieem, whose qualification for cover is that he is a resident of Amethi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s Parliamentary constituency. The CRPF, in fact, has resented the idea of providing security cover to VIPs citing lack of mandate and specialisation for the job.
Both the CISF and CRPF are finding it difficult in providing security to the persons with the available strength in their VIP security wing and have sought sanction for additional strength for security duties.
As many as 1,200 officers and men of CISF and one battalion (1,000 personnel) are presently trained and engaged for VIP security by the CRPF. The CISF has sent a proposal to the Union Home Ministry seeking to raise the strength of the security wing from 1,200 personnel to 4,000, CISF Director General Arvind Ranjan told The Pioneer.
Ranjan said the present strength is insufficient to guard 44 VIPs and the requirement is anticipated to increase in the near future. “When we will have a large pool of trained manpower, providing security cover to more individuals would not be a problem,” he added.
Amid raging debate over VIP security, the Ministry granted CRPF security cover to 22 individuals in 2013 and the current year. Till 2012, the CRPF had only eight VIPs whose security arrangements have been stabilised over the years. Aiming to end the ad-hocism, the CRPF requested the Ministry for dedication of anti-Naxal battalions (220, 221, 224 and 225) for VIP security. The Ministry has, however, granted approval for deployment of three battalions for the job.
To equip the personnel engaged in VIP security, the CRPF has decided to transfer existing resources from the operational battalions of the specialised anti-Naxal units of CoBRA. Each escort personnel will be provided Glock pistol, four X 95 assault rifles will be provided to each section and 2 MP5K rifles per section. This besides special communication equipment fitted with vehicle, handsets with noise reducer to each escort personnel and bullet-proof car and escort vehicle as per VIP status will be provided.
The paramilitary will place bullet-proof vehicles at Chandigarh, Puducherry, lucknow, Jammu, Patna, Ranchi, Raipur, Nagpur, Bhubaneshwar/Koraput, Guwahati for movement of VIPs.
“Over a period of time, CRPF has been given other duties like VIP protection for which the force is neither trained nor mandated. Currently a battalion is engaged in protection duties of 17 VIPs… It is not the core competence of the CRPF to do such duties. Security duties of these categories would involve both static and mobile duties. For this, the personnel would require special training, vehicles, arms and protective gear… Moreover, in the present law and order scenario, no reserve component of CRPF is available and even training companies are being regularly used for counter-insurgency operations and law and order duties,” says a CRPF note sent recently to the Union Home Ministry.
“We have repeatedly raised our concern in this regard by writing to MHA at different levels. Routinely issuing orders for providing this (VIP) security without the wherewithal is fraught with grave consequences and may endanger the life of the protectee,” the note added.
The protectees under CRPF ambit include BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy, former Punjab DG KPS Gill, RJD supreme lalu Prasad Yadav, Tamil Nadu MlA MK Stalin, Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh, Assistant Solicitor General Gopal Sbramaniam, former MP Matang Singh, lok Sabha MP lal Singh, RIl Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Congress MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal, Mohammad Naieem (resident of Amethi), Punjab MlA Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Vice President of Punjab PCC Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Former Manipur Governor Gurbachan Jagat, MP Raja Ram Pal, Cobrapost Editor Aniruddha Bahal, Former MP Mahmood Madani, Justices Sudhir Agarwal, SU Khan and DV Sharma of lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court.