Times of India: Chennai: Thursday, March 21, 2013.
The amount
spent for the protection of VIPs in Tamil Nadu and the number of policemen
deployed for such security cannot be revealed, the state police department has
said. Giving out such information, it said in reply to an RTI application by
TOI, "can prejudicially affect the personal security provided to the
VIPs."
This
declaration appears strange given that the Delhi government recently admitted
in the Supreme Court that 8,049 police personnel were deployed to protect VIPs
at 341 crore a year and was told that police personnel deployed for VIP
security should be re-deployed for security of women.
However,
statistics of the Bureau of Police Research and Development under the Union
ministry of home affairs say that against the 328 police personnel sanctioned
for protection of VIPs, including politicians and film stars, in Tamil Nadu,
388 were deployed.
In its reply,
the TN police said the actual strength and sanctioned strength of policemen in
the state was 87,349 and 91,068. For the next 11 questions, the reply was:
"The information requested by the petitioner in connection with police
protection to politicians and film stars and amount spent for providing
protection to them is confidential in nature." It did not explain how the
security of VIPs would be affected if a tax payer knew the amount spent on such
protection. The RTI application was filed in October last year and the reply
was received this month. According to the rules, a reply is to be given in 30
days.
Many RTI
activists say no information sought under the RTI Act can be denied.
"Police have refused the information because a huge sum would have been
spent on protection of VIPs," said an activist.
In TN, where
police to population ratio is 1:713, as many as 388 police personnel are
deployed to protect 102 VIPs, including ministers, MPs, MLAs, judges and
bureaucrats, or four police personnel to protect one VIP. This is still lower
than in some other states. Experts say most politicians enjoy security cover.
"The shortage of personnel in the force affects investigation of crime as
well as the security of the public. But we continue to get requests from VIPs
seeking protection and we are forced to oblige," said a police officer.
There are four levels of security cover Z+ (the highest), Z, Y and X depending
on the status and threat perception.
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