TNN, Feb 8, 2010, 03.29am IST
MUMBAI: The heydays of gangsters are over but the number of filmstars, businessmen, builders, politicians and others given protection by the Mumbai police has risen by 43 % over the past three years.
The number of protected persons jumped from 253 in 2007 to 316 in 2008 and stood at 361 last year, reveal figures obtained under the Right To Information (RTI) Act.
Another striking feature is that politicians outnumber the other three chief categories of protected persons. Last year, as many as 111 politicians had police protection as compared with 51 businessmen, 49 builders and 20 film stars.
“This is surprising as most of those attacked over unfulfilled extortion demands are businessmen and builders. Politicians are seldom harmed by criminals, unless hired by rival politicians,’’ said RTI activist Chetan Kothari, who sought the information.
On an average, politicians account for 30% of all those given protection. But unlike the others, they do not have to pay for it.
The number of film stars with protection went from 14 in 2007 to 20 in 2009. The corresponding figures for businessmen increased from 33 to 51, while those for builders rose from 34 to 49 in these three years which saw mobsters on the run. In fact, the police observed that several gangsters had reverted to robbery.
As many as 557 police personnel—enough to staff an entire police station—are deployed for protection, reveal the latest figures. According to the protection branch, 22 of those provided security had not paid the dues, which collectively amounted to Rs 42.5 lakh.
This, despite the fact that the police rates for protection are a fraction of those charged by private agencies. For instance, a police constable comes as cheap as Rs 400 for an eight-hour shift, while a sub-inspector costs Rs 700.
There are three ranks between the two and the average comes to Rs 650 per eight-hour shift. Going by this, the cost of providing 557 personnel (to protect 361 persons) would amount to Rs 2.35 lakh for an eight-hour shift.
Kothari had also asked for the number of VVIPs who had visited Mumbai over the past three years and the number of policemen used to give security cover for them. The total number of VVIP visits from 2007 to 2009 were 55 and more than 7,200 policemen were deployed for their security. Some of these men were used for lesser persons such as VIPs, ‘distinguished foreigners’ and those enjoying X, Y, Z and Z+ security cover.
According to the protection branch, around 20 officers and 80 men are detailed for protecting a VVIP, whereas a VIP merits 10 and 30 respectively. Those in the Z+ category get four officers and 20 men while ‘distinguished foreigners’ get two officers and four men.
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