Overview
- This week the Chhattisgarh home department completed a six-month review and decided to reduce protection for 116 political leaders and public representatives in the Bastar division.
- The reassignment moves protectees down one level in the scale used for VIP security so Z+ shifts to Z, Z to Y+ and Y+ to Y, and a second round of reductions is planned after another six-month review.
- Officials named several affected figures including cabinet minister Kedar Kashyap, state Congress president Deepak Baij, former ministers Kawasi Lakhma and Mahesh Gagda, and members of the family of the slain leader Mahendra Karma.
- Authorities say the changes will free hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel and reduce vehicle use, and some former forward camps have already been converted into tribal hostels and public service centres.
- The decision follows the government’s March 31 declaration that Bastar was free of armed Naxal activity and comes with caution from the opposition, which says local threats in remote areas warrant case-by-case checks before full implementation.