Mulayam, Akhilesh get Z-plus security cover

Lucknow -  Uttar Pradesh Thursday decided to give the highest Z-plus category security cover to 10 people, including ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his predecessor Mayawati, sources said.

Z-plus security, home department sources said, has also been given to former chief ministers Rajnath Singh, Kalyan Singh and Ram Naresh Yadav (now the governor of Madhya Pradesh).

This category entails round-the-clock personal security officials, 28 National Security Guard commandos on 24x7 duty, an escort, a pilot and tailing vehicles, Cobra commandos and 12 homeguards.

State ministers Mohd Azam Khan, Shivpal Yadav, union Coal Minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinay Katiyar, Varanasi MP Murli Manohar Joshi, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari and BJP MP from Lucknow Lalji Tandon have been given Z-category security.

It provides three security personnel and Cobra and other commandos from the Provincial Armed Constabulary.

Babu Singh Kushwaha, a one-time close aide of Mayawati and former minister who is an accused in the multi-crore-rupee National Rural Health Mission scam, has been given Y-category security, home department sources told IANS.

Y-category security entails one police officer sans escort vehicles.

Z-category security has also been given to the three judges of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court who delivered the Ayodhya verdict - S.U. Khan, Sudheer Agarwal and Dharamveer Sharma.

Social activist and lawyer Ajay Agarwal who was given Z-security cover on the orders of the Supreme Court will continue to avail it.

SP leader Devendra Agarwal who complained to the Lokayukta against former power minister Ramveer Upadhyaya, Hashim Ansari, who was one of the litigants in the Ayodhya issue, and BJP MP Adityanath have got X-category security.

X-security cover provides six police constables on duty and, depending on the security risk, commandos can also be provided, say officials.