Punjab vips love to live under security

deepak pace

DJ_DEE
Chandigarh December 26
Moving around with gunmen has become a status symbol for VIPs in Punjab and for that matter they have learned to live with a false sense of insecurity even though State is now free from militants.
According to facts submitted in Punjab and Haryana High Court during the hearing of a petition, a State where past few Governments strived on slogan of restoring peace, about 1,000 security men are deployed to protect Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his family. Badal however brushed aside this criticism saying, he had never demanded security. “The Centre has placed me and my son Sukhbir Singh Badal under Z plus category, so what can I do?,” he retorted.
Punjab and Haryana High Court which took the mater seriously has asked States of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh UT administration to review security cover given to all VIPs and immediately withdraw pilots and escorts given to politicians, bureaucrats and police officers other than Chief Minister, Speaker of Vidhan Sabha and Chief Justice of High Court. The High Court has asked the States to submit fresh policy within three months for providing security based on the threat to life of persons seeking security.
On an average, each of Punjab’s 17 Ministers has 20 to 40 security people deployed round the clock. 113 MLAs, besides other leaders of the BJP and the SAD have gunmen protecting them. Several police officers, bureaucrats, industrialists and even media persons have also been given State security. Most of them are also enjoying police escorts at the cost of State exchequer.
According to submissions made before bench comprising Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Nawab Singh, overall, about 900 leaders and 350 officers have 7,284 gunmen looking after their security needs. The gunmen are used as domestic servants who do all the household chores like dropping children to school, taking dogs for walk and accompanying mighty ladies to shopping malls.
The data figured during the course of hearing of plea filed by former SGPC secretary, Raghbir Singh, who claimed that despite serious threats to him and his family, Punjab had withdrawn security cover provided to him on March 3, 2007. Raghbir Singh’s counsel hammered on the fact that a large number of security personnel were provided to various influential people “without proper examination of threat perception to them”. Such people included SGPC members, industrialists, hoteliers, bureaucrats and even medipersons.
Haryana Government on Wednesday obtained one month’s time to implement the orders on the ground that it needs time to review the security. UT has informed the high court that it has implemented the orders and withdrew the pilot and escort provided to VIPs. Punjab Police is expected to submit a draft policy in this regard to the Government within one or two days following which the same will be produced before the high court so that pilot and escort vehicle security in Punjab can be provided based on position held by a person as well as threat perception to him.
State DGP, NPS Aulakh, told media that a policy was being framed to cover key officials like heads of the police and civil administration, State Home Secretary and Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister at the headquarters here, besides key officials like deputy commissioners and senior superintendents of police at the district level. Threat perception to officers will also be taken as a separate criterion.
 
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