Bulletproof Vehicles Withdrawn for 20 Former, Serving IPS Officers
Hyderabad: The state government has withdrawn bullet-proof vehicles allocated to 20 former and serving IPS officers, including former DGPs, based on the state intelligence department’s report on threat perception. The government has also withdrawn escort vehicles previously used by former DGPs.
Sources disclosed that the government has initiated the process of reducing security facilities such as bullet-proof vehicles and gunmen provided to former DGPs, retired IPS officers, former senior officials and some VIPs.
Orders have been issued to review the security measures provided to more than 100 prominent figures so far and to reduce them where the intelligence agency deems it necessary. Sources revealed that security is being reviewed considering factors such as elimination of Maoism in Telangana.
The government recently withdrew the bullet-proof vehicle provided to former IPS officer and BRS leader RS Praveen Kumar, which had provided security for almost 20 years. He has since approached the Telangana High Court, which granted an interim stay on the measure.
Among those whose security could be withdrawn were former DGPs Swaranjit Sen, AK Khan, AK Mahanty, Dinesh Reddy, Jitender, Mahender Reddy and Anurag Sharma. Others who would withdraw their bulletproof vehicles were former and serving IPS officers Poorna Chandra Rao, K. Srinivas Reddy, Naveen Chand, Daniel, Venkatrami Reddy, Stephen Ravindra, RS Praveen Kumar, DT Nayak, Umesh Sharif, Ravi Gupta, intelligence chief Vijayakumar and others.
As part of the security review, the number of gunmen targeting many political leaders and police officers has also been reduced. In most cases security was reduced to one plus one gunman.
