New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s security cover has been upgraded from Z plus category to the Advanced Security Liaison (ASL) protocol, an arrangement which is in place for Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Officials privy to the security arrangement of Bhagwat told ThePrint that protocols “similar” to what entails under the ASL was already being followed by the Special Security Group (SSG), a wing under the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), in charge of his security.
As a Z plus protectee, Bhagwat has been provided with a maximum of 55 personnel, including around 10 commandos from the National Security Guard (NSG), based on threat perception, and provided with a bullet-proof vehicle and escort in three shifts.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the officials said, had issued a formal order for the security upgrade about a fortnight back.
The ASL combined with Z plus security is the second highest level of VIP security in India, next only to the prime minister’s. The Special Protection Group (SPG) looks after the security of the prime minister as well as former prime ministers and their immediate family members for a five-year period if they stay at the residence allotted by the government.
Officials privy to the security arrangements said that only those protectees who have been given security coverage of the NSG are accorded the ASL protocol.
As part of the ASL drill, a couple of officers in-charge of the protectee travels beforehand to venues and holds meeting with stakeholders such as organisers and police to take into consideration the security and geographical “appraisal” of the sites, based on which a plan is chalked out in consultation with the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Giving details, officials privy to the security protocols mandated by the MHA told ThePrint that the security providing agency—the SSG or the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)— reach the destinations where protectees have programmes and other events to attend.
This is followed by a “coordination” meeting with local police officers, top state police officers, the organisers of the scheduled events for an “overall assessment” of the necessary security measures that need to be taken at the venue.
“Every bit of information and inputs such as probable density of the crowd, location of the venue, its distance from the vital installations and emergency services such as hospital, and possible emergency evacuation routes are noted in the minutes of the meeting. These written inputs form the basis of planning a security umbrella for a protectee at a particular event or venue. During the drill, there is a simulation exercise and carcade movements in exact manner to how it would move on the day a protectee would move on their visit,” a security officer told ThePrint.
These meetings generally take place around 10 days in advance for better communication between the local authorities and security-providing agencies. Specific security arrangements are made after taking into account the inputs brought on record during these meetings.
The SPG had started the ASL drills, the officials said.
However, as there was a “thinking” to shed some burden off the SPG when it came to VVIP duties, the security of some top leaders and family members of former prime ministers were given to the CRPF and the SSG. It was then the ASL mechanism was adopted by the forces to ensure security cover comparable to the SPG, a source told ThePrint.
In 2019, the Modi government had withdrawn the SPG security cover of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi, and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and handed the responsibility to the CRPF. Currently, the Gandhis are given ASL security cover by the CRPF.
“A major part of the ASL mechanism happens with SPG. It was started with the security of the serving prime minister in a very precise and organised manner. The ASL mechanism is for the visit of the VVIP,” another security official told ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)