New Delhi: The Central Reserve Police Force has reminded the Union home ministry of its decision to relieve the paramilitary force of VVIP security duties, saying it is stretched as it is protecting key installations, battling insurgents and helping keep peace in troubled zones.
"We have sent a reminder to the ministry saying the force has not enough manpower to deploy personnel for personal security duties. The ministry last year had decided to take the CRPF off VIP duty but nothing has been done so far," a senior official with the country's biggest paramilitary force told The Telegraph.
The Rajnath Singh-led ministry had in November decided to take CRPF personnel off VIP security duties following a review meeting.
The ministry had said the CRPF and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), another paramilitary force, would be phased out from VIP duties and the task assigned to the Central Industrial Security Force's (CRPF) special security group that has been specially created for such duties.
The ministry had also issued a note saying the National Security Guard (NSG) would continue to provide security cover to high-risk individuals as decided from time to time.
The NSG protects 15 VIPs, including home minister Rajnath.
The CRPF, deployed for VIP duties since 2014, now protects 76 persons, including BJP national president Amit Shah and the Centre's interlocutor for Jammu and Kashmir, Dineshwar Sharma.
ITBP commandos, deployed for VVIP security since the early 1990s, protects 18 high-profile dignitaries, including judges of the Supreme Court and politicians from Jammu and Kashmir.
VIP security has four categories, with those in the highest category - Z-plus - entitled to 38 guards.
Protectees under the "Z" category are entitled to 24 guards; 11 guards under category "Y" and 2 guards under category "X". On average, VIP security costs the exchequer nearly Rs 390 crore a year.
"The list of VVIP protectees has been growing but the ministry has not been able to pull out the CRPF from such duties despite having taken a decision," another CRPFofficial said.
In 2002 a group of ministers had recommended that the CISF be ideally assigned the task of VIP security and suggested that the ITBP, the CRPF and other security agencies be relieved of VIP duties so that they could focus on the tasks they had been created for.
The home ministry provides security cover on the basis of threat assessment of individuals, subject to periodic reviews on whether the level of protection should be continued with, withdrawn, downgraded or upgraded.
The Prime Minister, former Prime Ministers and their families, former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, son and current party chief Rahul, daughter Priyanka Vadra and Priyanka's family get Special Protection Group cover. The President's own guards protect the country's first citizen.
