Delhi Police and CRPF are in a tough spot over Rahul Gandhi’s security protocol. The ongoing anti-SIR protests led to a logistical tussle during his detention. A security official said, “It was a catch-22 situation for both the police and the CRPF commandos.” Both agencies now struggle with these rules.
Delhi Police and the CRPF are caught in a catch-22 situation over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s security protocol.
The ongoing anti-SIR protests in Delhi, spearheaded by Opposition leader and MP Rahul, a Z-plus protectee, have led to a logistical tussle between the Delhi Police and the CRPF, especially during his detention twice in two days and transportation to holding centres in police vans, sources in the central security establishment said on Thursday.
Rahul is protected by the CRPF and the inner cordon security includes its armed commandos, who remain with him during public movements, political activities and flash protests. “The escalating protests on Tuesday and Wednesday led to high-voltage confrontations between Rahul Gandhi and the Delhi Police. This also caused logistical friction between cops and CRPF commandos when the police tried to remove the Congress leader from the protest sites,” said a CRPF officer.
The Delhi Police detained Rahul and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, also a Z-plus protectee, following confrontations and a sit-in against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on both days. The police, assisted by security personnel like the Rapid Action Force (RAF), broke up the gatherings, physically removed the two MPs and allegedly dragged and forced them onto buses.
“It was a catch-22 situation for both the police and the CRPF commandos. The former was trying to remove the two protesting MPs while the latter was protecting the two MPs as per protocol. There was a scuffle between the police and CRPF commandos when the cops detained the MPs before bundling them into buses,” a security official with the Union home ministry said. Both CRPF and Delhi Police report to the ministry.
Sources in the CRPF said the assigned close-protection commandos — typically 10 to 12 armed personnel — maintain an immediate inner ring around the protectee at all times, even during police detention or removal from the protest site.
“As per protocol, security guidelines dictate that the protectee is never left isolated from their specialised personal security officers regardless of whether local law enforcement takes them into custody or moves them to a detention site,” the official said.
If the police detain a Z-plus protectee during a protest, CRPF commanders coordinate with senior police officers to ensure a secure transit vehicle is used, maintaining ballistic and physical safety standards.
A former CRPF director-general told The Telegraph that the job of commandos is to ensure the safety of their protectees without impeding the functioning of the police. As per protocol, the CRPF is supposed to be in close coordination with the police before and after the protectee’s detention, ensuring their safety without hindering police action.
“The delicate balance needs to be maintained to ensure both the security of VIPs and adherence to legal proceedings. It requires organised coordination between the commandos and the police. I found this coordination missing at times during the latest protest,” he said.
On Wednesday, while marching towards Jantar Mantar along with other MPs, Rahul even fought off the police to protect Congress workers when the cops tried to detain them. Later, Rahul and Priyanka resisted being detained. Priyanka alleged that MPs were thrown to the ground and that she was scratched during the scuffle.