Ministers, officers barred from coming close to PM Modi without SPG clearance after security threat

File photo (PTI)

New Delhi: No one, not even ministers, will be allowed to come too close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi unless cleared by the Special Protection Group (SPG), the Union Home Ministry said on Tuesday in its new security guidelines to states.

There has been an "all-time high" threat to the PM and he is the "most valuable target" in the run-up to the 2019 general elections, officials privy to the issue said.

No one, not even ministers and officers, should be allowed to come too close to the PM unless cleared by his special security, the Home Ministry communication said, citing an "unknown threat" to PM Modi.

The SPG is believed to have advised PM Modi, the main campaigner for the ruling BJP, to cut down on road shows, which invite a bigger threat, in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and instead address public rallies, which are easier to manage, an official said.

The close protection team (CPT) of the PM's security has been briefed about the new set of rules and the threat assessment and instructed to frisk even a minister or an officer, if necessary.

The PM's security apparatus was reviewed threadbare recently after the Pune police told a court on June 7 that they had seized a "letter" from the Delhi residence of one of the five people arrested for having alleged "links" with the banned CPI (Maoist), another official said.

The purported letter allegedly mentioned a plan to "assassinate" Modi in "another Rajiv Gandhi-type incident", the police had told the court.

Also, during PM Modi's recent visit to West Bengal, a man was able to break through six layers of security to touch his feet, sending the security agencies into a tizzy.

Following these developments, Home Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Intelligence Bureau Director Rajiv Jain to review the prime minister's security. 

In that meeting, the HM had directed that all necessary measures be taken in consultation with other agencies to suitably strengthen security arrangements for the prime minister.

Maoist-hit states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal were termed sensitive by the Home Ministry and the police chiefs of these states were told to be extra careful when the prime minister visits their states, the official said.

Security agencies are believed to be especially monitoring the Kerala-based Popular Front of India (PFI), an outfit that the government believes is a front for radical groups.