SPG guards on toes as Modi hangs on to his vehicle to wave at crowd

Puri: Undeterred by the heightened threat perception, Prime Minister Narendra Modi waved at the crowd in Puri by hanging onto his bullet-proof vehicle on Sunday. This apparent breach of protocol made his Special Protection Group (SPG) guards jittery.
Modi was at his charming best when he landed at the helipad around 10.30am. As the swelling crowd cheered Modi, he stood on the footrest of his vehicle and greeted them.
The Prime Minister stood holding the door of his SUV left ajar and waved at the crowd for nearly one kilometre on the Grand Road in Puri while proceeding toward the helipad after having a darshan at Jagannath Temple.
The SPG guards had to run and surround his snail-paced cavalcade from Jagannath Temple to Hospital Square. The Odisha Police and SPG heaved a sigh of relief when Modi shut himself inside the vehicle after crossing the Hospital Square.
"Touched by people's warmth and affection in Puri," he tweeted.
According to experts, Modi should have followed the protocol. "The very purpose of providing a bullet-proof vehicle to the Prime Minister is defeated if he stays in full public view for a long time. Threat perceptions to Modi multiplied ever since he became the Prime Minister. Recently, Goa Police received a letter, threatening to harm Modi," said retired DGP S N Tewari.
"It is quite uncommon on part of a Prime Minister to throw caution to wind. He should have cooperated with the SPG and police. We were on our toes. Since he is the Prime Minister, we did not dare insist that he stopped waving at the crowd," said a senior police officer.
While around 30 SPG guards were in Puri to provide proximate shield to Modi, Odisha Police mobilized 35 platoons of forces for his hassle-free visit.