Centre accords Z category security cover to Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai

The Centre has enhanced the armed VIP security cover of Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai to the Z category, official sources said on Friday.

Under Z category security cover, a team of about 30 commandos works round the clock in shifts with the protectee at his place of stay and whenever he is mobile.

A threat perception and analysis report by the central intelligence agencies necessitated enhancing the security cover of the BJP Tamil Nadu chief from the X category, along with state police cover, to the larger Z category, the sources said.

The new cover will authorise the 38-year-old IPS officer-turned-politician to have a pilot and escort vehicle in his convoy during his travels across India, according to the sources.

The CRPF protects about 100 dignitaries as part of its VIP security task and this includes Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Congress's first family comprising former party president Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among others.