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1,000 armed
guards for Punjab CM, kin
WSN Network
Chandigarh:
Guess how many policemen and commandos guard the
Punjab
chief minister and his family? Around 1,000! Following the Mumbai
terror attacks, when the nation has erupted in anger against VIPs
keeping a big chunk of our elite commandos engaged for their own
security, some startling facts have tumbled out from police sources
in the state.
Here’s a
sampler. Each
Punjab minister
has 20 to 50 gunmen for protection. The number of gunmen for one MLA
starts from five and can go up to 60. For instance, Manjinder Singh
Kang, Akali Dal MLA from Beas, has about 60 police personnel for
security. As much as 12% of the state’s police force is deployed for
VIP security. Overall, about 900 leaders and 350 officers have 7,284
gunmen.
There has been
no attack on any officer in
Punjab after
1993 and no attack on any politician since 1995. But that doesn’t
prevent each member of slain Punjab CM Beant Singh’s family from
getting separate security.
Punjab’s leader
of opposition, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, has over 30 police personnel
for her security cover. Congress state general secretary, Parminder
Singh Pinky, and Youth Akali Dal president, Kiranbir Singh Kang,
have more than 24 cops each guarding them.
The ministers
are given anywhere between 20 and 50 gunmen for protection.
Surprisingly, the police do not have proper records showing how many
personnel are attached with which VIP. Depending on the clout they
have in the establishment, politicians manage security guards from
various police wings like Punjab Armed Police, Indian Reserve
Battalion, Punjab Commando police and 82-Battalion.
In fact, not
just VIPs and high officials, even people in the media have been
lavished with armed guards. A total of 194 gunmen are attached with
mediapersons out of whom 139 are with employees of just one media
group. The scenario is such that even some
Punjab
industrialists get paid security from police. Sources claimed many
influential people in the state are still riding Punjab’s terrorism
days persecution complex to bask in the glory of an elaborate
security cover for them.
17
December
2008
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