Punjab Police withdraws 800 cops deployed with VIPs

About 800 personnel deployed with VIPs, including politicians, have been withdrawn by the Punjab police following a review of the security cover provided to various protectees in the state.

"About 800 police personnel have been withdrawn from various protectees. The security has been reviewed on the basis of threat perception, intelligence and norms," a senior police official said here on Friday.

However, those who were being given 'Z plus' and 'Y plus' security cover would continue to get the same, he said, adding fresh threat perception reports were also being prepared to ascertain the threat level to various individuals as part of security review exercise.

During the previous SAD-BJP regime, several political leaders were allegedly enjoying police security more than the prescribed norms.

The new Congress-led Punjab government has committed to end VIP culture and prune their security which was being shown as a status symbol by many political leaders.

The Director General of Police Suresh Arora had constituted a State Level Review Committee under the chairmanship of DGP Hardeep Singh Dhillon to review the security provided by the state police to various 'protectees'.