New Delhi: Shah Rukh Khan has been given Y+ security cover by the Maharashtra government in light of death threats he reportedly received over his films Pathaan and Jawan.
Khan will now be protected by 11 security personnel on a rotational basis, including six commandos, as well as a police escort vehicle. He will pay for the security cover himself.
The Maharashtra State Intelligence Department (SID) informed all police commissionerates, district police and special protection units (SPUs) on 5 October to provide the actor Y+ security with immediate effect, The Indian Express reported Monday. It quoted an SID letter that cited an “imminent and probable threat” to Khan.
Khan’s film Pathaan had drawn protests before its release this January, right after its first song ‘Besharam Rang’ was out. Right-wing groups had objected to a saffron-coloured bikini worn by actress Deepika Padukone in the song.
Several protests were held by these groups across the country, demanding that the film be boycotted. Amid this, an Ayodhya-based ascetic reportedly issued death threats to Khan, saying he would “burn him alive” if he met him.
A few months ago, security around Khan’s Mumbai bungalow, Mannat, was also increased. In March this year, two men were reported to have broken into Mannat’s premises by scaling the outer wall and were apprehended by the security guards.
Prior to Khan, actor Salman Khan was last year provided Y+ security after he allegedly received threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The same year, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri was also given Y+ security after allegedly receiving threats over his film The Kashmir Files.
In 2020, Kangana Ranaut was given Y+ security, becoming the first Bollywood actor to get this level of security cover — otherwise provided to senior politicians and even the Chief Justice of India.
Here’s what the different categories of security cover, granted by the government to individuals believed to be under threat, entail.
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X, Y and Z security cover
The govenment grants security cover at several different levels: Z+, Z, Y+, Y, and X. There’s also the Special Protection Group (SPG), an exclusive privilege reserved for the prime minister. Former prime ministers’ families can get cover for five years after the end of the PM’s tenure.
SPG members receive training in line with the guidelines of the US Secret Service, which protects the American president, and they are equipped with weapons such as the FN F2000 assault rifle.
For the other security categories, the level of protection depends on the perceived threat, which is assessed by security agencies.
Under Z+ security, individuals such as the Union home minister receive a 55-strong security detail, including personnel from different forces, and 10 commandos from the National Security Guard (NSG), along with local police.
Z security provides 30 armed personnel, split between residential and mobile security, and both include an escort vehicle.
Y+ security involves five personnel stationed at the protectee’s residence and six personal security officers (PSOs) deployed in three shifts.
Y-category security, a notch lower, has eight personnel, with five at the residence and three armed PSOs on rotation.
The X security cover is the most basic, with three PSOs accompanying the protectee one at a time in three shifts, without residential security. While X security cover uses state police, personnel for the other four categories come from the central armed police forces.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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