MUMBAI: Security for cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, superstar Amitabh Bachchan and other prominent personalities has been stepped up following intelligence reports that they could be targets of terrorists, police said on Saturday.
Tendulkar, who was enjoying an 'X' category security cover, has now been provided one-step up 'Y' category security, they said.
It means armed bodyguards will accompany Tendulkar whereever he goes, while his residence in Mumbai and other places where he visits in the country will be guarded by local police, they added.
Apart from Tendulkar, security of 'icons' staying in Mumbai, like superstars Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, industrialist Mukesh Ambani, has also been stepped up, police said, but refused to divulge the nature of security provided to them.
Meanwhile the Centre has described as proper the stepping up of security of eminent persons including Tendulkar by Maharashtra Police in the wake of intelligence inputs of terror threat to 'icons'.
Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal said that while the Central Intelligence Bureau does not have any such definite information, Maharashtra Government is fully competent to beef up security.
It might be possible that the state intelligence might have reported threat to eminent persons and since Tendulkar is one of them and the people have emotional attachment with the cricketer, the step might have been taken, he told a news chaneel.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Protection and Security), Mumbai, Surendra Kumar, informed that security to Tendulkar and other personalities has been stepped up upon specific intelligence input.
"He (Tendulkar) is one of the iconic personalities and therefore his security arrangements have been further beefed up," Kumar said, adding at present the star was in Bangalore and the security arrangements were being taken care of by the local police there.
"These people already had a security cover and what we have done is stepping it up further," he added.
