In India, VIPs get 3 cops each, 1 for 761 nationals

New Delhi, Apr 2: Seven sixty one nationals in India have 1 cop to protect them, while VIPs in the country have 3 each, according to a Home Ministry report.

The report released by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday, shows that for every 16,788 VIPs including MPs, ministers, MLAs, bureaucrats and judges in the country, atleast 50,059 policemen were deployed to protect them in 2010.

What comes as a shocker is that only 28,298 police personnel were supposed to be deployed for giving protection to the VIPs in 2010.

The data shows that Punjab, which had 11,000 vacant seats for police personnels deployed 5,410 cops for VIPs, followed by Delhi which deployed 5,100 cops and Andhra Pradesh 3,958 cops.

In 2009, 47,355 police personnel were deployed to guard 17,451 VIPs. The numbers doubled despite the states and UTs sanctioning only 23,637 police officials for VIP security in that year.

"The increase in the protected persons’ protection deployment has strained the already limited manpower resources of state police. Therefore, there is a need for periodic review of the deployment of police for protected persons’ protection against need based assessment coupled with proportionate increase in the sanctioned and professionally trained manpower commensurate to the bona fide protected persons’ protection requirements," said the report.

According to a report by the Bureau of Police Research and Development, dated Jan 1, the real police strength for every lakh population in the country was 131.39, as against the sanctioned posts of 173.51.

West Bengal saw 81 police personnel's deployed for every lakh population, while 118 in Rajasthan, followed by 115 in Madhya Pradesh and 88 personnel in Bihar against the national average of 174 policemen for per lakh population.

OneIndia News