Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been provided Z-Plus category security on his release from jail following reports of threats to his life from pro-Khalistan activists.
The Haryana government’s decision to grant the top-tier security cover to the convicted sect leader comes after his request for furlough was approved earlier this month.
Ram Rahim, currently serving life imprisonment for the murder of former journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati and the rape of two Dera disciples, was released from Rohtak’s Sunaria jail on a 21-day furlough on February 7.
The 54-year-old was convicted in this case by a special CBI court in Panchkula in 2017.
The government provides security detail to an individual on the basis of a comprehensive threat assessment carried out by security agencies.
In India, the category covers are: X, Y, Y-Plus, Z and Z-Plus. The last category is the highest one and is accorded to only the most important people in the country. Besides these categories, SPG (Special Protection Group) cover is meant only for the prime minister and his immediate family.
Owing to the assassination of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul and Priyanka also enjoyed SPG security cover. But this was later modified to the Z-Plus category.
People in the Z-Plus category get 10 security personnel for mobile security, and two (plus eight) for residence security. The Z-Plus level of security is provided by National Security Guard commandos.
