Taking the rising cases of crimes against women into account, Opposition leader in the legislative council Vinod Tawde has asked Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh to cut down his security cover from 10 policemen to two. As an Opposition leader, Tawde is entitled to ‘Y’ category security, under which two policemen are expected to be present with him all the time and eight others are posted at his residence.

The security is equivalent to that of a cabinet minister, according to officials.

“I have decided to return the security cover provided at my residence,” he said.

After the meeting with Singh, Tawde said that the city has witnessed several cases of crimes against women such as the Chetana college attack, murder of lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha, theft of children from hospitals, among others in the recent past. “When the issue of women’s security was raised in the legislative council, home minister RR Patil had said that the staff shortage is to be blamed for the failure of the police in curbing such incidents,” he said.

Tawde has asked Singh to use the policemen who were posted with him to protect the common man. He has urged other politicians to follow his example.

“In some cases, politicians tend to use security cover as a status symbol, which is not right,” he said.

“Tawde has set an example for others. Security is provided to politicians based on the post they hold and the threat to their life. We will review Tawde’s security situation and take a decision soon,” said Singh.