Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is set to have a security cover that officials say will be “like the Special Protection Group (SPG)” that protects the Prime Minister.
The highly advanced unit will be called the Special Security Group (SSG) and, like the SPG, will operate with only one objective — providing round-the-clock protection to the Andhra Pradesh CM and their immediate family members — spouse, parents and children.
The SSG cover excludes former CMs, while the SPG protects former PMs too.
The Jagan Mohan Reddy government got the SSG Bill, 2023, passed in the assembly last week, amid ruckus over the arrest of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and former CM Chandrababu Naidu in the alleged skill development scam, which has also led to street protests in the state.
The TDP has also criticised the creation of the SSG, and questioned its need.
Speaking to ThePrint, Superintendent of Police (Intelligence) Babujee Attada, a 2011- batch IPS officer designated the first SSG director, said the AP SSG bill has gone to the governor for assent.
“We are in the process of framing the rules and have also approached the SPG, seeking their support in establishing the unit,” he added.
He said the move wasn’t necessitated by any increased threat perception, adding that the project had been in the works for months.
Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP, intelligence) P.S.R. Anjaneyulu said that, with the creation of the SSG through an Act, Andhra Pradesh “becomes the first state to have such a specialised and dedicated protection group, leveraging cutting-edge technologies on the lines of Special Protection Group shielding the Prime Minister”.
The SSG set-up will include the SOC (SSG operations centre), a round-the-clock command hub to operate from the state capital, SPARC (SSG Planning and Review Centre), mobile FORCE (Field Operational Reconnaissance and Surveillance Centre), and SEED (SSG Excellence Academy), a specialised training centre for commandos. The set-up will also have an SSG canine training centre, SK9.
Explaining its functioning, Attada said, “From attire to work culture, screening processes — testing the physical, psychological and intellectual abilities of candidates — for induction, specialised training units like SEED… all are planned to be modelled on the SPG.”
Following the SPG, he added, “we are adopting a zero-error strategy”. “The SSG’s significance lies in its exclusivity — protection of one person, the CM and his family, nothing else.”
The unit, to work under the intelligence department, will have 431 sanctioned posts. There are about 300 personnel involved in the CM’s Z+ category security at present.
“The number will go up but the SSG is more about creating personnel with razor-sharp skills, reflexes needed to keep the CM secure all the time,” Attada said.
The officers and commandos will be drawn from various wings like District Police Armed Reserve, AP Special Police, Octopus (Organisation for Counter-Terrorist Operations) and the Greyhounds, the specialised anti-Naxalite commando unit formed by the united AP government and police in 1989.
The SSG motto is ‘Kaizen’, embodying the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement and excellence in all operational aspects of skills, tactics, and strategies, according to the SSG vision document, accessed by ThePrint.
The level of security to be provided for the CM’s mother, wife and daughters (who live abroad) will be based on threat perception analysis reports, the officer said.
Also Read: The ‘Rs 3,300-cr govt deal & skill development project’ behind Andhra ex-CM Chandrababu’s arrest
Why the need of SSG now for Jagan?
The SSG move comes at a time when Andhra Pradesh political atmosphere is charged up with Naidu’s arrest.
Also, the assembly elections are due in May, for which Jagan is expected to frequently visit different districts and conduct rallies and roadshows on a daily basis as the poll season peaks.
However, Attada said there was no specific threat that led to the SSG idea.
“As a state with a reputation for establishing elite law enforcement agencies, such as the Greyhounds and the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB), we took a step forward in the CM’s protection with future needs in mind, and leveraging futuristic technology,” Attada added.
TDP leaders have questioned the need for setting up the SSG.
“Already, people are suffering wherever the CM goes as his visit means road blockades, closure of shops, institutions, restriction on public movement, and even cutting of trees in some cases for smooth passage of convoy etc,” said Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy, a senior TDP leader and former minister.
“About 2,000 cops are deployed on each visit,” he added. “What wrong has Jagan committed? From whom does he see such great danger to have an SPG-like security cover? While his father, former CM Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, was easily accessible to the public, Jagan is shying away from the state’s public.”
TDP national spokesperson Kommareddy Pattabhi Ram said Jagan was “fulfilling all his fancies as he knows he has to relinquish the CM chair next year”.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)