NSG commandos to be withdrawn from VIP security
The Union government has ordered the complete withdrawal of the counter-terrorist commando force NSG from VIP security duties and is handing over its nine "high-risk" VIPs to the CRPF by the next month, official sources said on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has also sanctioned a fresh battalion of specially trained personnel, recently withdrawn from Parliament security duties, to be attached to the CRPF VIP security wing.
The 'black cat' commandos of the National Security Guard (NSG) provide 'Z plus' category protection to nine VIPs which include Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his predecessor and BSP supremo Mayawati, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, veteran BJP leader LK Advani, and Union shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
The others are BJP leader and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh, Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) president Ghulam Nabi Azad, National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The transfer of duties between the two forces under the MHA is expected to be completed within a month, they said.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which has six VIP security battalions, has been asked to absorb a seventh battalion for this purpose.
The fresh battalion is the one that used to guard Parliament till a few months back. After a security breach that took place last year, the Parliament security was handed over to the CISF from the CRPF, a senior officer told PTI.
As part of the taking over the new task, a team of Andhra Pradesh Police was in Delhi recently for the change of its chief minister's security from the NSG to the CRPF, sources said.
Two among these nine VIPs will also have the advanced security liaison (ASL) protocol being undertaken by the CRPF -- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and UP Chief Minister Adityanath, as per sources.
ASL involves an advance reconnaissance of the location to be visited by the VIP. The CRPF undertakes such a protocol for five of its VIPs including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and three Gandhi family Congress leaders.
