vicky sen
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New Delhi, Feb. 16: Security agencies are trying to keep pace with Narendra Modi following inputs that militants could target the Gujarat leader who has embarked on a whirlwind cross-country election campaign, addressing rallies, sometimes several a day across states.
“Our fear is that if there is a terrorist attack on Modi, the country will see riots breaking out on a large scale,” a senior government official told The Telegraph.
Earlier this month, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate addressed rallies in the Northeast before flying down to Tamil Nadu the same day.
Sources said intelligence agencies and police forces had woken up to the seriousness of these perceived threats after the blasts at Modi’s Patna rally in October. Within a month of the Gandhi Maidan explosions that killed nearly half a dozen people, the Centre had issued advisories to the National Security Guard (NSG) and state police forces.
Now, the level of security for Modi is virtually as high as that provided by the SPG that protects the Prime Minister and former Prime Ministers and their families.
Since the Patna explosions, a special security scheme has been devised where the role of every agency, including the NSG and state police personnel, was redefined. Following the overhaul, the NSG, Gujarat police and the police of the state Modi is visiting now do a joint drill. “With specific threats coming in, we do anti-sabotage checks as required,” said an NSG source.
Police sources said interrogations of Yasin Bhatkal, a key Indian Mujahideen functionary picked up by Delhi police, and Simi operatives arrested in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in December revealed a common thread: Modi.
Security agencies fear more terrorist modules could be looking for opportunities to create trouble at Modi’s rallies. “Look at the crowds. No rally has had less than a lakh people, whether at the Brigade ground in Calcutta or in Imphal. Only Cuttack had about 75,000 people,” said an intelligence official.
The Gujarat chief minister enjoys Z-plus security, which involves an inner security circle of 36 personnel. At his rallies, however, the security strength is not less than 1,500 people in addition to bomb squads.
A former NSG officer, who is understood to have redesigned Modi’s security architecture, said: “In a democracy, you cannot tell a politician to sit at home simply because there is a threat.”
Modi was far away from home today. He was in Himachal Pradesh. He is preparing for another round of back-to-back rallies in Lucknow, Agartala and locations in Bihar over the next two weeks.
Cops on edge over Modi
“Our fear is that if there is a terrorist attack on Modi, the country will see riots breaking out on a large scale,” a senior government official told The Telegraph.
Earlier this month, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate addressed rallies in the Northeast before flying down to Tamil Nadu the same day.
Sources said intelligence agencies and police forces had woken up to the seriousness of these perceived threats after the blasts at Modi’s Patna rally in October. Within a month of the Gandhi Maidan explosions that killed nearly half a dozen people, the Centre had issued advisories to the National Security Guard (NSG) and state police forces.
Now, the level of security for Modi is virtually as high as that provided by the SPG that protects the Prime Minister and former Prime Ministers and their families.
Since the Patna explosions, a special security scheme has been devised where the role of every agency, including the NSG and state police personnel, was redefined. Following the overhaul, the NSG, Gujarat police and the police of the state Modi is visiting now do a joint drill. “With specific threats coming in, we do anti-sabotage checks as required,” said an NSG source.
Police sources said interrogations of Yasin Bhatkal, a key Indian Mujahideen functionary picked up by Delhi police, and Simi operatives arrested in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in December revealed a common thread: Modi.
Security agencies fear more terrorist modules could be looking for opportunities to create trouble at Modi’s rallies. “Look at the crowds. No rally has had less than a lakh people, whether at the Brigade ground in Calcutta or in Imphal. Only Cuttack had about 75,000 people,” said an intelligence official.
The Gujarat chief minister enjoys Z-plus security, which involves an inner security circle of 36 personnel. At his rallies, however, the security strength is not less than 1,500 people in addition to bomb squads.
A former NSG officer, who is understood to have redesigned Modi’s security architecture, said: “In a democracy, you cannot tell a politician to sit at home simply because there is a threat.”
Modi was far away from home today. He was in Himachal Pradesh. He is preparing for another round of back-to-back rallies in Lucknow, Agartala and locations in Bihar over the next two weeks.
Cops on edge over Modi
