New Delhi, Apr 9: The Union government has provided Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar with a Z-category VIP security cover of armed commandos in view of potential threats, official sources said on Tuesday.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has entrusted the Central Reserve Police Force with providing a contingent of about 40-45 personnel for the task, the sources said.
A threat perception report prepared by central security agencies had recommended a strong cover for Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kumar. The move comes amid preparations for the seven-phase general elections that begin on April 19.
The armed commandos will accompany the CEC during his travels across the country, the sources said.
Kumar is a retired IAS officer of the 1984 batch. He took charge as the 25th CEC on May 15, 2022.
He had been appointed as an election commissioner in the poll body on September 1, 2020.
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Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
