Telangana withdraws bulletproof vehicles of 20 IPS officers after security review
HYDERABAD: The Telangana government has withdrawn bulletproof vehicles allotted to 20 former and serving Indian Police Service (IPS) officers after the state intelligence department reviewed their threat perception. It has also withdrawn escort vehicles earlier provided to former directors general of police (DGPs), sources said.
The government has started scaling back security arrangements, including bulletproof vehicles and gunmen, for former DGPs, retired IPS officers, former senior officials and some VIPs. According to sources, the decision follows intelligence assessments that found many of them no longer require such protection.
Security of over 100 prominent persons under review
Meanwhile, the government has ordered a review of the security cover provided to more than 100 prominent persons. Based on intelligence reports, authorities are reducing security wherever the existing protection no longer matches the assessed threat level.
Officials said the review also considers the sharp decline in Maoist activity across Telangana. As a result, the government has reassessed the need for high-level security provided over the years.
Recently, the government withdrew the bulletproof vehicle allotted to former IPS officer and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader R.S. Praveen Kumar, who had enjoyed the facility for nearly 20 years. However, he approached the Telangana High Court, which granted an interim stay on the government’s decision.
Gunmen reduced for several leaders and officers
The government has withdrawn bulletproof vehicles provided to former DGPs Swaranjit Sen, A.K. Khan, A.K. Mahanty, Dinesh Reddy, Jitender, Mahender Reddy and Anurag Sharma.
Similarly, the decision affects several former and serving IPS officers, including Poorna Chandra Rao, K. Srinivas Reddy, Naveen Chand, Daniel, Venkatrami Reddy, Stephen Ravindra, R.S. Praveen Kumar, D.T. Nayak, Umesh Sharif, Ravi Gupta and Intelligence Chief Vijayakumar, among others.
In addition, the government has reduced the number of gunmen assigned to several political leaders and police officers as part of the broader security review. In most cases, authorities have limited the deployment to one personal security officer and one gunman.
