The government has reportedly ordered police and intel forces to increase protection for “high risk dignitaries”
The Indian government has reportedly directed states to ramp up security for “high-risk dignitaries” during public interactions. The orders, according to the Indian Express, were issued days after the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump, who is running for reelection.
The report claims that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government sent the directive to police, paramilitary forces, and intelligence agencies in the country’s states on July 15, asking that security measures be ramped up, particularly during rallies and public meetings. Moments after the attack against Trump, Modi said, “Violence has no place in politics and democracies.”
Would-be assassin Thomas Michael Crooks shot Trump in the ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. Firing from a rooftop which Trump’s Secret Service detail had inexplicably left unguarded, the 20-year-old gunman killed one person in the audience and injured two others before Secret Service snipers shot him dead.
The directive mentioned six other assassinations or attempted assassinations, including that of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which resulted in his death, and of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, which he survived.
Physical security measures, technical surveillance, contingency drills, and the role of personal security officers must be focused on, the government’s note said, according to the report. It also reportedly set out the procedures for preventing these situations from occurring.
“The proximate area should have only a minimum number of authorised persons and there should be no crowding around the dignitary,” the document said, according to the Indian Express. It added that the venue should be put through “comprehensive physical, visual and technical checks followed by deployment of security personnel.” The directive also instructed officials to prepare for contingency situations through drills.
Assassins have killed several high-profile leaders and politicians in India since its freedom from British colonial rule in 1947. Revered independence activist Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 by a member of a right-wing Hindu paramilitary organization. In 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Sikh bodyguards after she ordered the storming of a Sikh holy shrine. Her son, Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated in 1991 in Tamil Nadu by a suicide bomber.
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