Chandigarh, Jan 13 The security cover around former Punjab chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president Parkash Singh Badal is being tightened in view of apprehensions expressed by Badal himself that his life was under threat, Punjab police said Saturday.The top Akali leader already has the maximum security cover (Z-plus category), but the police have further tightened the security ring by deputing more security personnel.A state police spokesman said that one non-gazetted officer, two head constables and eight constables, besides two more security vehicles were being provided for the additional security.During the last fortnight, Badal has expressed apprehension that some terrorist elements wanted to eliminate him before the Feb 13 assembly polls to stop him from coming to power again.He even accused Chief Minister Amarinder Singh of being linked to such terrorist-minded people.However, according to the police, Badal's security was tightened following directions from the chief minister himself in view of the threat perception to the Akali leader and his movement for electioneering.Recently, police in Jalandhar recovered a huge quantity of RDX from suspected terrorists, including a British Sikh, who was allegedly brought to Punjab for carrying out a major strike before the elections.
(c) Indo-Asian News Service
