Rapid rise in policemen deployed to provide protection to VIPs in Mumbai
22 Dec, 2012Reply to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that the deployments for VIP and VVIP security and bandobast in Mumbai has risen tremendously over the five years from 2,213 deployments in 2007, to 28,420 deployments in 2012.
The deployments of policemen for VIP and VVIP security and bandobast has risen by over 1,100 % during the past 5 years. It has been contented by critics that nearly 15-20% of Mumbai's 46,000-strong police force is on leave or on VIP duty at any given time. Thus, the number of cops left for other duties is highly inadequate which is affecting routine policing. It has been reported that:
- 114 policemen had been assigned to protect just one VVIP in January, 2010.
- 4,232 security/bandobast deployments had been made for just 24 VVIP visits to Mumbai between January 2010 to June 2011.
Such a rapid increase in the number of VIPs points to the need of taking some drastic measures to enable regular policing for the common man.