The elite Special Protection Group (SPG) is all set to take over the security of Narendra Modi from the National Security Guard immediately after he is sworn in as the next Prime Minister of India on Monday evening.
Mr. Modi’s new cavalcade would be the same as that of outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The impressive set of about a dozen bullet-proof vehicles would include at least two customised BMW Series 7 sedans, half-a-dozen BMW X3s and a Mercedes Benz ambulance.
Mr. Modi , who presently travels in a Scorpio, is expected to use one of the armoured BMW Series 7s once the swearing-in ceremony is over. A second car would serve as a decoy.
Soon after the BJP was declared victorious in the Lok Sabha elections, the SPG contacted its counterparts in the Gujarat Police and the NSG to understand basic dynamics of the security cover provided to Mr. Modi, presently under Z-plus cover.
While about three-dozen NSG commandos and the Gujarat Police personnel comprised his proximate guard when he was Chief Minister, his security was stepped up after the Patna blasts in October.
The Intelligence Bureau initiated proceedings for a review of the threat assessment to the Prime Minister-elect and SPG representatives also joined his security cover to study his movements. Based on the intelligence report and feedbacks from the NSG, the Gujarat Police and its own team, the SPG has now prepared a preliminary plan of action for providing security to Mr. Modi.
The SPG will also cover Mr. Modi’s wife Jasodaben and his mother Hiraben.
