Photos: Beeline for armoured vehicles ahead of poll season

The mechanics retrofitting cars with blast-resistant doors and bulletproof windshields in a Punjab garage have been flat out of late -- elections are looming, and politics can be a dangerous game. In the past, prime ministers were assassinated, political motorcades ambushed and party officials attacked, and some candidates aren't taking any chances. ...read more

Share Via

Copy Link

1 / 10

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Apr 04, 2019 11:57 AM IST

A mechanic works to bulletproof a vehicle at the Laggar Industries workshop on the outskirts of Jalandhar, Punjab. Orders for specialised armoured cars have been piling up at Sunchit Sobti’s factory in Jalandhar, where his crew have already retrofitted four SUVs for political bigwigs since the upcoming poll -- the biggest election in history -- was announced a few weeks ago. (Narinder Nanu / AFP)

2 / 10

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Apr 04, 2019 11:57 AM IST

It’s a pattern that repeats itself every election season, said Sobti, whose father started supplying armoured cars for politicians and other VIP clients in the 1980s when armed insurgency raged in Punjab. “This one is the mother of all elections,” he said. “Like all big events, there are bigger risks involved and leaders want to ensure they are safe. We have been working on orders for months.” (Narinder Nanu / AFP)

3 / 10

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Apr 04, 2019 11:57 AM IST

It was not just political candidates keen to bullet and blast-proof their cars but party bookkeepers and backroom heavyweights too, Sobti added. At least seven rival companies contacted by AFP, in Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra, have also experienced a spike in election-related orders for armour-plated vehicles. (Narinder Nanu / AFP)

4 / 10

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Apr 04, 2019 11:57 AM IST

It can take weeks to bolster a car with imported ballistic glass and steel plates able to withstand grenade fragments and gunfire, and even longer for the permission needed to put the car on the road. But for some, it is a price worth paying. “Success and jealousy knock at you together,” said one Punjabi state lawmaker. “You can’t even trust your friends, forget about enemies. I can’t compromise on my safety.” (Narinder Nanu / AFP)

5 / 10

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Apr 04, 2019 11:57 AM IST

India has a history of political violence, with particular bloodshed around election time as competition intensifies between parties. More than 100 politicians or party officials were murdered in 2016 alone, the latest figures from National Crime Records Bureau show. Twenty-five Congress politicians were murdered in an ambush on their convoy in 2013 by Maoist rebels in Chhattisgarh, as the state prepared for elections. (Narinder Nanu / AFP)

6 / 10

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Apr 04, 2019 11:57 AM IST

Even in regions free of rebel uprisings, feuds between political rivals can turn deadly. In February a regional lawmaker in West Bengal was shot dead by unidentified gunmen. More than two dozen political figures from warring parties have been killed in Kerala in the past three years. Sometimes politicians themselves have violent records. (Narinder Nanu / AFP)

7 / 10

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Apr 04, 2019 11:57 AM IST

As campaigning gets under way for the 2019 contest -- voting starts April 11 and spans nearly six weeks, with 900 million Indians eligible to cast ballots -- security is again a central concern for the monumental poll. In trouble spots, candidates are escorted by police as they drum up support. (Narinder Nanu / AFP)

8 / 10

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Apr 04, 2019 11:57 AM IST

Former Delhi police chief Maxwell Pereira said the overwhelming majority of politicians never faced any danger, and it was the state’s responsibility to ensure protection for at-risk officials. “Only police should make a call on whether they require personal protection or armoured cars, after assessing if there is a credible threat,” Pereria told AFP. (Narinder Nanu / AFP)

9 / 10

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Apr 04, 2019 11:57 AM IST

That is not stopping candidates from taking matters into their own hands and turning their cars into tanks as polling day draws near. “We want our customers and leaders to be safe,” said Narinder Singh, a mechanic at Sobti’s workshop in Punjab. (Narinder Nanu / AFP)

10 / 10

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Apr 04, 2019 11:57 AM IST

Sunchit Sobti with bulletproof vehicles at the Laggar Industries workshop. The market for such cars in India is worth $150 million a year and growing by double digits, industry representatives said. Companies like Mahindra & Mahindra, and Tata Motors, also offer a small range of pre-made armoured vehicles for civilian use. The outlay is considerable, costing anywhere between $7,000 and $70,000. (Narinder Nanu / AFP)