Cops find security duty a burden

CHANDIGARH, May 19: Faced with a severe shortage of manpower, the Haryana Police have decided to request the Ministry of Home Affairs to rel...

CHANDIGARH, May 19: Faced with a severe shortage of manpower, the Haryana Police have decided to request the Ministry of Home Affairs to relieve them of the burden of security-related duties of the highly-protected retired civil servants residing in Gurgaon and Faridabad, the two satellite towns of Delhi. The protectees include former bureaucrats, intelligence officials and judges – most of whom face a high degree of threat from various militant outfits.

The Haryana police sources said that the request, if accepted, would ease pressure on the state police force as it was in no position to provide round-the-clock security cover to these VIPs due to severe shortage of manpower and financial crunch. Haryana Police Director General S. K. Sethi said: “We will request them to either assign the job to para-military forces or share our burden. These duties put considerable strain on our resources. In fact, we are not able to deploy our entire force on law and order duties.”

The decision to take up the matter with the ministry was taken last week after the state police department had been directed to provide security cover to yet another retired bureaucrat – a former Chief Secretary of the terrorist-infested Assam – who has decided to set up a home in Gurgaon. The other prominent figures, who are being provided security cover by the state police, include a former Union Minister, a Supreme Court judge, a former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief, a former Home Secretary and a former Foreign Secretary.

Story continues below this ad

In addition, the state police have to spare about 50-60 policemen to provide peripheral security to former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, he is protected by the elite Special Protection Group. Most of these are in the “Z” category, with a high degree of threat as per the threat-perception exercise conducted by the Intelligenc Bureau.

“We have to deploy at least 30 policemen and an escort car for each “Z” category protectee. We don’t mind providing round-the-clock security cover to two or three such VIPs but their number keeps going up each year,” according to a senior police official. Incidentally, the state police have to make their own security arrangements for the Haryana Governor, Chief Minister and others in Delhi. The police department also plans to review the security provided to 150 Haryana politicians (including all MLAs and MPs) and civil servants in the next two-three months.

Canada, UK and Australia formally recognise a Palestinian state

World10 hr ago

The UK, Canada, and Australia have recognized Palestine as a state, going against the US and Israel's opposition. British PM Starmer aims to revive peace without Hamas and hostage release. Canada and Australia also recognize Palestine, condemning terrorism. Over 145 UN members recognize Palestine, with France likely to join soon.

View all shorts

Live Blog