Agartala: A year after achieving a tag of peaceful and insurgency free state, Left ruled Tripura Police is in the process of procuring bullet-proof vehicles for VIP security.
According to report, police already has a considerable number of bullet-proof vehicles for VIPs and VVIPs.
Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Governor Tathagata Roy are also provided with Z-plus security cover that comes with a bullet-proof vehicle.
“Tripura police is now having bullet-proof cars but these are quite old. Now security point of view updated version of bullet-proof cars are necessary for VIPs though insurgency reduced to zero,” said a home department official.
Mr Sarkar, who is now in his fourth consecutive term as chief minister, has been using the bullet-proof vehicle for several years now.
Tripura received a good consignment of bullet-proof vehicles in 2001, when armed insurgency was at its peak.The Tripura Police had projected requirement for bullet-proof vehicles in 2001-2002.
The central government had allotted 15 Maruti Gypsy cars for bullet-proofing at Ordnance Factory of Medak. The state government was also accorded sanction to purchase three bullet-proof ambassador cars from the Ordnance Factory, officials stated. In the years that followed, Tripura achieved a significant cache of sophisticated weaponry and protected vehicles.
Its security arsenal included state-of-art bullet-proof jackets, headgears, vehicles, night vision cameras, dragon-lights among other classified devices.
In what could only be described as extra preparation of the state police for possible disruption of peace with separatist demands like Tipraland gaining ground, an order was placed for providing bullet-proof vehicles worth Rs 68 lakh.
A senior police official confirmed the information and said the vehicles would be delivered in a day or two. He claimed that the bullet-proof cars were being ordered as a part of the police modernisation drive. (UNI)
