G20 Summit: 450 CRPF Drivers Trained To Drive Bullet-Proof VIP Luxury Cars

G20 Summit: CRPF has leased more than 60 luxury left-hand drive VVIP vehicles and has undertaken a special training to skill drivers for these cars as India has right-hand drive protocol.

Image: PTI

Ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit scheduled to take place in New Delhi on 9-10 September, CRPF has trained more than 450 drivers to work for the VIP transportation in the capital region. As per a report on PTI, the CRPF's VIP security wing have been trained to pilot the special left-hand driven and bullet-protected vehicles to ferry foreign dignitaries. A fleet of both bullet-resistant and non bullet-resistant Audi, Mercedes, BMW and Hyundai Genesis cars have been hired or purchased by the Union government to ferry 41 top foreign guests.

This dignitaries will be flying to India starting September 8, 2023 to participate in the G20 Leaders' Summit in Delhi next week, official sources said. These specially-trained drivers will take the premiers and leaders to their destinations in the national capital, like the main meeting venue of 'Bharat Mandapam' and the five-star hotels where the dignitaries will stay, they said.

As more than 60 vehicles have been specially pooled in to carry the VVIPs are left-handed, the CRPF VIP security wing has undertaken a special training to skill drivers for these cars as India has right-hand drive protocol, the sources said.

The force got some left-hand driven cars from Germany to train these personnel apart for about a month apart from skilling them to drive the bulky bullet resistant luxury cars. Since these vehicles are imported for the G20 Summit, they are mostly left hand driven due to their counrtry of origin, including Germany and South Korea. 

Earlier, govt denied the media reports that they have bought 450 Audi cars to ferry the dignitaries during the G20 Summit. Instead, govt has leased cars from various companies for the 2 days event and will be returned back as soon as G20 is over. 

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is the country's largest paramilitary force with over 3.25 lakh personnel in its ranks deployed for a variety of internal security duties. Its special VIP security wing with a strength of over 6,000 personnel guards 149 high-risk persons including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and the Gandhis - Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The force has deployed a total of 900 personnel, including these 450 drivers, for providing proximate security to the VIPs during the two days of the G20 Summit on September 9-10 and the one preceding day of September 8 when the heads of various nations will start arriving in the national capital.

This special G20 pool of the CRPF includes personnel who have earlier served in the Special Protection Group (SPG) that protects the prime minister and the counter-terrorist force National Security Guard (NSG). Official sources said the spouses of the dignitaries will be be guarded by the specially-trained men and women commandos of another paramilitary force - Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

The Border Security Force (BSF) has been tasked with providing the "contingency" carcade for the G20 Leaders' Summit, the sources said. Other central armed police forces like the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) apart from the 'black cat' commandos of the NSG have been deployed for securing the routes and venues of the summit in coordination with Delhi Police, they said.