Lords of The Ring Each minister: At least 23 policemen * Each MP, MLA: 2 armed guards Each secretary-rank IAS officer: 7 guards (2 for personal security, 5 for home) 4,000 policemen across state to protect VIPs * Around 35 guards each for Anosh Ekka & Kamlesh Singh Pilot and escort cars for each VIP Swanky cars for each VIP: At least 5; earlier it was 2

Ranchi, Feb. 25: Ambassadors are out. Luxury sedans are in. No more two policemen guarding a cabinet minister. The number is around 25. This is what ministers of an extremist-hit state get: comfort-filled “high-end security cover”.

The exceptionally high security level would give an impression that ministers and bureaucrats in Jharkhand — one of the less-developed states — are perhaps the most “unsafe” in the country.

What ministers are enjoying here (see chart) is still a dream for their counterparts in others states. A pilot vehicle and an escort jeep always provide the necessary security cushion to each of the ministers whenever they wish to take the road. But this privilege was not there before UPA-backed Madhu Koda came into power in September last year.

Bureaucrats are also not far behind to get extravagant as far as personal security is concerned. Each of the secretary-rank IAS officer has got at least seven police personnel, including two personal security guards and five house guards. M.K. Mandal is perhaps the only chief secretary to use a pilot car and a police escort party as well. Mandal’s predecessors were less fortunate in these aspects.

Police officers, too, admitted that the VIPs are “over-protected”. “We sanction them as we do not want to invite their wrath and put the coalition government into trouble. Also we do not want to take any chances,” said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.

Ironically, the police headquarters has no dossier to say as exactly how many of the 36,000 police personnel are protecting the VIPs.

The reason, director-general of police J. Mahapatra said, is that the security personnel are drawn from district armed constabulary as well as Jharkhand Armed Police battalions.

He had also no clue as how many of the police personnel are deployed to protect the IPS officers. “There is no rule to provide security guards to them. Those who enjoy such cover, have got so by twisting the rule book,” he added.

On the other hand, in Bihar, where the NDA government is in power, ministers are not entitled to get either a permanent escort party or a pilot car. “They can have two personal security guards and five for their house,” said Abhayanand, Bihar’s additional director-general of police.

As far as cars are concerned, ministers as well as most of the secretaries are using Endeavour, Baleno and Gypsy, not ambassadors any more. The consumption of fuel naturally exceeds the limit of 175 litre a month.

While home secretary Sudhir Tripathy justified the security level as “there is the Naxalite threat”, human resource development minister Bandhu Tirkey said: “We do not need so many security personnel at our homes.”