Four former Chief Ministers of J&K, including Ghulam Nabi Azad and Farooq Abdullah, are likely to lose their Special Security Group (SSG) Protection as the administration of the Union Territory has decided to wind up the elite unit which was established in 2000.
The move has come a little over 19 months after the Central Government issued a notification- Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Order, 2020- on March 31, 2020. It amended the Special Security Group Act of J&K Govt by omitting a clause that provided the former Chief Ministers and their families with SSG Security.
According to the officials, the decision of winding up the elite unit was taken by the Security Review Coordination Committee. It is a group that oversees the threat perception of the important leaders in J&K.
Who will be the four former CMs of J&K to lose Security cover?
The latest decision will entail the withdrawal of the Special Security Group Cover of Ghulam Nabi Azad, Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti, and Omar Abdullah.
The security will be removed at a time when a number of threats and terror incidents have been taken place in Srinagar. All these former Chief Ministers of Jammu & Kashmir, except Ghulam Nabi Azad, reside in Srinagar.
Minimum security to be provided to the four CMs of J&K
Farooq Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Azad will continue to be provided with the security cover of the National Security Guard, as both of them are Z Plus Protectees.
Mehbooba Mufti and Umar Abdullah will continue to have Z Plus Security Cover while in J&K, but they are likely to have reduced security outside the Union territory.
The four leaders will also be provided the security by the District Police as well as the Security Wing on the basis of threat assessment.
What is Special Security Group (SSG)?
The Special Security Group is a wing of the Paramilitary Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). It is a specialized force like the National Security Guard.
SSG Commandos, who are trained at par with the NSG Personnel, provide security to the VIPs under Z Plus, Z, Y Plus, Y, and X Categories in the country.
What will change with the downsizing of SSG Cover?1. The Special Security Group (SSG) will be ‘right-sized’ by reducing the number of the elite forces to a bare minimum. 2. The SSG Security Cover will be headed by an officer below the rank of the Superintendent of Police as against the Director, who is of the rank of the Inspector General of Police and above. 3. The SSG will now be entrusted only with the security of serving the Chief Minister of the UT and their immediate family members. 4. Some of the SSG Personnel will be posted with the security wing of J&K Police for the close Protection team and the remaining will be posted to other wings so that police can make the best use of their knowledge and training. 4. Vehicles and other gadgets will also be transferred to the security wing of Jammu & Kashmir. |
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