SPG toils for Modi's Varanasi poll blitz

New Delhi: The ongoing Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh have not just been a challenge for political heavyweights but also for the country’s elite security agency, Special Protection Group (SPG), which is tasked with protecting the Prime Minister.

Sources said the SPG had made unprecedented security arrangements for three consecutive days in Varanasi when PM Narendra Modi travelled “in the open, in the middle of a huge crowd.”

“In fact, the security arrangements were first of its kind made by the SPG as the PM was totally exposed to a huge crowd from all sides and any untoward incident could have happened. So we had to put in place a massive security drill to ensure full protection of the PM,” a senior security official said.

What made the situation more difficult was that PM Modi, who continues to be hugely popular with the people, attracted massive crowds for three days in Varanasi. This made the PM “more vulnerable” to an attack since he was moving in an open SUV, especially after sunset, sources added.

To ensure that the PM’s events in his Lok Sabha constituency were executed without any glitch, an advance liaison team from the agency was camping in Varanasi to co-ordinate with local police and para-military forces.

Sources claimed that there was a three-cordon security layer during the events. While the UP police provided the outer most cordon, the second ring was that of the para-military forces, along with rooftop teams and those moving along with the PM’s convoy. The inner-most cordon, which surrounded the PM and the SUV in which he was travelling, was provided by the SPG. This unit is known as the Ring Round Team (RRT) that provides body cover or protection to the PM.

The RRT normally comprises 8-10 top SPG commandos, but for the Varanasi events the number was substantially increased to about 100 SPG personnel.

Part of the new security cover organised especially for the PM’s roadshow in Varanasi was a modified, open SUV which was bullet and blast proof, had railings fixed on three sides to help SPG commandos climb onto the vehicle whenever the PM was on the move.

The SPG had also deployed a commando on the SUV’s roof to immediately protect the PM in case of any incident. “Since there were huge crowds all over, particularly on rooftops, anyone could have simply hurled a stone at the convoy. So the idea of deploying a PSO on the roof of the PM’s SUV was to provide him with body cover in case of any eventuality,” the official added.