Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma became the latest VVIP to be given Z+ security in the country on Friday. CM Sarma’s protection was upgraded by the Centre from ‘Z’ category cover in the North-Eastern region to the ‘Z+’ category on an India basis, sources were quoted as saying.
The change in cover came after the Assam CM’s security arrangement was reviewed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in consultation with the Central Security Agency.
Z+ is the highest level of security cover given to any person in India apart from the Special Protection Group (SPG) which is currently only provided to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Currently, India has around 40 protectees who get Z+ security in the Central list, the government had informed in 2021. This includes the likes of Home Minister Amit Shah, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Congress leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. The exact details of Z+ security requests are not disclosed due to security reasons.
SPG, Z+, Z, Y and X security covers - The difference, who gets what
Security covers in India are provided by the home ministry and are based on the protectee’s threat perception. The perception is analysed based on intelligence inputs from agencies. Private individuals have to pay for their security arrangements.
SPG
The highest security cover of Special Protection Group or SPG was established in 1985 in the aftermath of the assassination of former PM Indira Gandhi. It is a force with 3,000 personnel along with a specially trained canine squad. Sonia, Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi had been among the SPG protectees since 1991 after former PM Rajiv Gandhi’s death. However, a change of SPG mandate in 2019 replaced their cover with Z+ with the top level cover becoming limited to the PM of the country.
Z+ security
After SPG comes the Z+ or Z-plus security cover. In this arrangement, over 50 CRPF personnel-strong security is designated to protect the individual 24x7. The personnel can also include National Security Guard (NSG) commandos as per the threat perception. The cover also includes a bulletproof vehicle and an escort vehicle. Apart from HM Shah, CM Adityanath and the Gandhis, other individuals with Z-plus security cover include businessman Mukesh Ambani.
Z security
The third highest level is Z security cover with 22 security personnel. These include commandos and policemen. These can include private individuals who request for the cover. Among those with Z security are businessman Gautam Adani and yoga guru Ramdev.
Y-plus, Y and X security covers
In Y range, the security will be provided by 8 to 11 personnel which could have few commandos. In the X cover, protectees are provided with two armed police personnel but no commandos. Several people in the country get these covers including film stars like Kangana Ranaut who has Y+ security cover and The Kashmir Files filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri.
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(With inputs from agencies)
