A security alarm, sparked by a green laser light pointing at Rahul Gandhi in Amethi might have been dismissed by the Union home ministry as a “mobile camera light”. But former SPG bosses, who have handled VVIP security, asserted that the matter was serious enough to demand a thorough probe into possible security threats to the Congress chief.
A former Special Protection Group (SPG) director said if there was a laser light pointed on the person of Gandhi, it should have firstly been noticed by the SPG itself on the spot and he should have been whisked away. But that did not happen. The incident took place on Wednesday when Gandhi came out of the Amethi collectorate after filing his nomination and was addressing the media.
“It is possible that the SPG might have noticed it and the issue got resolved on the spot. But in case they did not spot it themselves, then it means the focus of the security personnel was on the people surrounding him and not Rahul Gandhi himself,” said a former SPG director.
“The security cover to VVIPs has to take into account both the threat from outside and within,” said the former SPG director.
An inquiry was undertaken by the SPG soon after the MHA took cognisance of the matter and gave its report in 24 hours.
“Such an inquiry would ideally take time, taking into account the fact that the threat came from an outdoor setting where the environment can be changed quickly,” said another intelligence officer.
The inquiry would include determining the size of the laser dot, the distance from where it came and the length and size of the beam, which would require a thorough probe.
Though the SPG claims it has spoken to the AICC photographer whose mobile phone is believed to have caused the green light, former SPG officials said a detailed analysis may be needed to de-construct the sequence of events and analyse the alleged threat, keeping in mind new-age threats from various devices.
Dismissing the threat, the home ministry had said on Thursday that as soon as its attention was drawn to reports that there was an incident of a “green light” being pointed at Gandhi on Wednesday in Amethi, the director of the SPG was asked to verify the factual position.
The director of the SPG informed the MHA that he went through the video clipping of the incident very closely and the “green light” shown in the clipping was found to be that of a mobile phone used by the AICC photographer, who was recording the impromptu press interaction of Rahul Gandhi near the collectorate at Amethi. The findings were also conveyed to the personal staff of Gandhi by the SPG, confirming that “there was no security implication whatsoever,” said the MHA.
But the security alarm that has been triggered by the curious laser light has sparked concerns.
A purported letter written by the Congress party to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, and denied hours later, is gathering eyeballs as it was the first to raise the alarm. Once the letter was out in the media and the MHA dismissed the threat, the Congress party said it had not sent any letter to the MHA. The letter may have been a draft, which wasn’t shared with the government.
Security experts said the quick denial might be linked to a rethink owing to security reasons.
Had there been an official concern raised by the Congress with the MHA, it could have resulted in a detailed review of the existing security arrangements. During such a review, a change in Gandhi's security detail, possibly replacing the existing SPG personnel providing him round-the-clock security, could not be ruled out completely. At this juncture, a possible replacement of SPG guards in Gandhi’s security detail may not be a good idea during elections, they said.
Now, both the Congress and the MHA have officially denied the existence of any letter raising alarm over Gandhi's security.
But since the home ministry’s own report does not deny the existence of a laser green light on Gandhi, it is likely that SPG would be leaving no stone unturned to keep an eye on newly emerging threats from electronic devices.