New Delhi: Charges and counter-charges laced with politics flew fast and thick on Friday afternoon when the ‘zero-error’ Special Protection Group (SPG) security cover was withdrawn for the Gandhis—Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka—in the exercise of a governmental prerogative.
In effect, the SPG, for the time being, would be responsible for the security of just Prime Minister Narendra Modi while an assessment on the need for SPG cover is conducted once every year.
The SPG personnel are as close as one get to be to ‘royal bodyguards’ in today’s India. Dressed always in sleek black business suits or grey safari suits, dark sunglasses and a bulge around their waistband barely concealing a handgun, they are truly the elite among the forces.
About 3,000 strong now, they are mandated to protect the Prime Minister, his/her immediate family, former PMs and their family members.
While the SPG for the Gandhis would be replaced by the Z-Plus security to be provided by the paramilitary CRPF, no one would be in doubt that the professionalism of the SPG would be missed.
To be fair to the CRPF, its core mandate is assistance in ensuring law and order while that if the SPG is ensuring security for its protectees without any margin of error.
The SPG’s roots go back to the assassination of the then PM Indira Gandhi at the hands of her own security guard in 1984 in the aftermath of which a strong need was felt for a professional and dedicated force of bodyguards that would be responsible for all the safety and security of the PM, former PMs and their family members.
Selected from relatively younger age groups for a six-year deputation from any police organization be it of the Centre or the states, SPG personnel become experts in using communication devices, operating sophisticated weapons effectively and most importantly developing the art and science of taking split-second decisions. Their training modules include inculcating the ability to withstand the pangs of hunger or go without sleep for days without end.
Accustomed to long hours of travel in aircraft belonging to the Indian Air Force, Aviation Research Centre (ARC) or even state carriers while travelling abroad, a SPG advance team visits every country and location that the PM is to visit and assesses the security arrangement and preparedness. Only on its go-ahead does the PM’s trip starts—both inside the country and in foreign shores.
Besides India, SPG men have been trained by some of the best security professional forces and intelligence agencies of the world.
Usually posted in eight-hour shifts throughout the day, the incessant travelling and exposure gives the SPG a rare adaptability that few forces can match.
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