Hyderabad: Security cover of nearly 300 persons, including incumbent director-general of police (DGP) CV Anand and several former DGPs, was downgraded in the backdrop of the eradication of CPI Maoist threat. As part of the move, police will withdraw bulletproof (BP)cars, reduce the number of gunmen and other security personnel of the protectees based on threat perception.The Security Review Committee (SRC), which comprises the DGP, additional DG (Intelligence), representatives from the Intelligence Security Wing (ISW), home department, Intelligence Bureau and other intelligence units, and periodically reviews threat perception of VIPs, took decisions to this effect recently. So far, 382 policemen involved in VIP security were withdrawn from specific duties and they would be assigned different responsibilities in the coming days.
The SRC meeting was convened a few days ago after a gap of three years. During the meeting, security of police personnel and public representatives, serving and former, was decided. M Mahendar Reddy, Anurag Sharma, Swaranjit Sen, Arvind Rao, Jitender and Shivadhar Reddy were among the 20 former DGPs whose security detail was trimmed.“Several retired officers from different agencies, including state police, were granted BP vehicles, while in some cases a pilot, multiple gunmen and guards. These facilities were given on the justification of Maoist threat. Now, that the state is free from naxals, it was decided to rationalise the use of resources,’’ sources privy to the SRC decisions told TOI on the condition of anonymity. Similarly, gunmen for former MLAs & MLCs, representtives of local bodies were completely withdrawn.After chief minister A Revanth Reddy chose to downgrade his security cover from Z+ to Z as part of austerity measures nearly two months ago, several officers followed suit. The DGP’s security was reduced to a two-vehicle convoy sans pilot. In the last few years, serving officers like Anand, Hyderabad police commissioner VC Sajjanar, Greyhounds chief Anil Kumar, intelligence chief Vijay Kumar and others gave up their BP vehicles. The withdrawn BP vehicles would be put for sale over a period of time.However, former IPS officer-turned-politician RS Praveen Kumar took objections over downgrading his security detail. Intelligence Security Wing (ISW) officials informed him that his vehicle would be withdrawn and he would be removed from the X category, which would trim his existing 2+2 gunmen to just a gunman.
