No austerity at cost of security, say securitymen

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi is one of the country's most closely guarded men, and the men who keep him secure were understandably nervous when he chose to travel on the Shatabdi from Delhi to Ludhiana on Tuesday.

But if that wasn't enough, the stoning of the train sent his security personnel into a tizzy. So they held a review meeting on Wednesday and came out with a very simple message for Rahul -- austerity can't come at the cost of his safety.

Rahul, according to intelligence agencies, is on the hit list of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), the Naxals and the LTTE.

In fact, the LTTE risk factor is being specially assessed before his trip to Madurai later this week. This is why, the risk factors for his security constantly reviewed and re-assessed.

So, when Rahul Gandhi decided to travel by train as part of the new austerity drive launched by his party, he was accompanied by his normal posse of SPG men. Six of them stationed themselves in the bogey in front of his, while six were stationed in the bogey at the back.

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There were also three PSOs in his bogey, but all them were stunned when the train was stoned. And though Rahul was not the target security agencies feel as far as security measures go these austerity measures need a review.

"It is difficult to say who is behind this. We've sent a team to get fingerprints," said K Kamraj, IG Rohtak.

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Security sources say that while they will not put a blanket ban on train travel, but for SPG protectees like Rahul certain precautions have to be kept in mind like:

• Not making a habit of going by train

• Itineraries to be fixed less than five days in advance, for more of a surprise element

• Train travel also includes risk of someone on the train making a phone call about Rahul Gandhi's presence

• And the possibility of unscheduled stops

Rahul Gandhi's aides say that he travels by the Lucknow Mail and other trains all the time; even Mrs Gandhi uses the Kathgodam Express to visit friends. So they say it's not part of the austerity drive with 15 travelling security men, it's probably not economical either.