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VVIPs with PSOs can go abroad after telling govt

Ministry wants better liasion with foreign forces for security
Last Updated 23 September 2014, 19:35 IST

The government has asked all VIPs with personal security officers to inform security forces when they travel abroad so that it can ensure better coordination with foreign agencies.

The Union Home Ministry has shot off letters to state police forces asking them to ensure that whenever any VIP travels abroad, he or she must inform the agency that gives police protection. 

This would enable smooth coordination with security agencies abroad and ensure proper protection.

The instruction comes against the backdrop of conviction of three Sikh extremists, including a woman, last year in the United Kingdom for carrying out an attack on Lt Gen (Retd) Kuldip Singh Brar on September 30, 2012.

General Brar had led “Operation Blue Star” in 1984 to flush out pro-Khalistani militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. 

The ministry had, last year itself, issued a similar instruction. Security agencies do not want a repeat of the incident faced by General Brar and want to take pre-emptive security measures. 

Following Home Ministry’s direction, the Delhi Police earlier this month sent letters to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra, former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s two sons-in-law, Vijay Tankha and Ashok Patnaik and former prime minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee’s son- in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya, asking them to inform the city authorities whenever they travel abroad.

Tankha's two sons, Raghav and Madhav, Patnaik’s son Rohan and Bhattacharya’s daughter Niharika have also been asked to provide details about their journeys abroad. Similar letters have been sent to former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and his wife Chinnamma Deve Gowda.

As per the communication, the VIPs will have to inform concerned agencies about the nature of their visit, purpose of the visit, detailed programme, address of the host, date and time of arrival and departure and duration of the tour abroad.

A senior Home Ministry official said the state police forces and security agencies will have to ensure that the VIPs inform them in advance and strictly follow the protocol. “We do not want any untoward incident,” he added.

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(Published 23 September 2014, 19:35 IST)

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