‘Bihar police refused to sign detailed security report’

After conducting a series of exercises and holding meetings with Gujarat police officials to take stock of security preparations for Sunday’s Patna rally of Narendra Modi, the Bihar police refused to sign a document called Advanced Security Liaison (ASL) report, wherein mutually accepted steps to keep Modi and his rally safe were detailed.

After conducting a series of exercises and holding meetings with Gujarat police officials to take stock of security preparations for Sunday’s Patna rally of Narendra Modi, the Bihar police refused to sign a document called Advanced Security Liaison (ASL) report, wherein mutually accepted steps to keep Modi and his rally safe were detailed, sources told HT.

“When a Gujarat police team led by an additional director general rank official reached Patna, it requested for an ASL with their Bihar counterparts. The objective of an ASL is to look after the protectee’s security, from the airport, venue of public meeting, bomb sweeping exercise to the identification of security coordinators from both sides. But after conducting ASL with the Gujarat police on October 24 and 25, the Bihar police refused to sign saying Modi was not an ASL category protectee,” said a security official.

Sources say when Bihar police had refused to sign the document, which would have committed them in writing to take steps to keep the rally venue and Modi safe, the Gujarat police didn’t escalate the matter at the level of Union home ministry, which could have intervened to ensure proper security for Modi.