The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has downgraded the security cover of Gursharan Kaur, wife of former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, from Z-plus to Z category, to be provided by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Former PM Singh and his wife were accorded CRPF Z-plus security cover in 2019 after the MHA had withdrawn their Special Protection Group (SPG) cover. In 2013, Singh’s wife became the first SPG protectee to have women commandos in her immediate security cordon.
A source in the security establishment said the decision to downgrade Singh’s wife’s security was taken last week after a review conducted by multiple agencies. “After conducting a latest threat assessment, they did not find any latest threat and it was conveyed to the concerned. It was later decided to downgrade her security cover. Now Singh’s wife has Z category security cover of the CRPF, which has six gunmen for mobile security, and two (plus eight) for residence security. Earlier there was Z plus, which has 10 security personnel for mobile security and two (plus eight) for residence security,” the officer said
Another source said around 30 personnel from the security division of Delhi Police were attached with Singh’s security cover, but now after auditing, most of them have been removed. “Apart from the security personnel, a bullet proof car has been provided to her by the CRPF and also two spotters outside her residence,” the source said.
Explaining the security cover system, an officer said there are largely six types of security cover: X, Y, Y plus, Z, Z plus, and SPG (Special Protection Group). While the SPG is meant only for the PM and his immediate family, other protection categories can be provided to anyone about whom the Centre or state governments have inputs about a threat. .
Manmohan Singh had served as the Prime Minister of India for two consecutive terms between 2004 and 2014. The ‘Z Plus’ is the second-highest security cover in the country after the SPG.
The development comes three months after Dr Singh passed away in New Delhi on December 26, 2024, at the age of 92 years. He was being treated for “age-related medical conditions” at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Following Dr Singh’s death, the government had announced the setting up of a memorial and had allotted a 900 sq m plot in the middle of the complex of samadhis called the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal near Delhi’s Raj Ghat. Following a visit to the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal by members of the family in February, the former Prime Minister’s wife is learnt to have sent a formal acceptance letter to the government. The family will not set up a Trust to which the land will be formally allotted.
