Mukul Roy’s ‘Z-Category’ security cover withdrawn on his request, clarified MHA

PTI, Jun 17, 2021, 3:08 PM IST

New Delhi: The Z-category VIP security cover of West Bengal politician and MLA Mukul Roy, who recently returned to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) from the BJP, has been withdrawn on his request, official sources said Thursday.

They said the Union Home Ministry has directed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to recall its detachment deployed with him.

The 67-year-old Roy and his son Subhrangshu, a former MLA, are now being provided security by the state police.

Roy, who was suspended from the TMC in 2017 for alleged anti-party activities, had joined the BJP and was appointed its national vice president ahead of the West Bengal elections.

He and his son returned to the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC last week after the BJP’s drubbing in the polls even though the senior Roy won his Krishnanagar Uttar constituency as a saffron party candidate.

A home ministry source said that Roy had written to the Centre to withdraw the security cover.

After he had joined the BJP, he was accorded a low category Y+ central security cover of the central paramilitary CRPF which was upgraded to the second top level of ‘Z’ just before the state assembly polls in March-April this year.

He had a contingent of about 22-24 armed CRPF commandos who used to move with him every time he travelled in West Bengal.

The security of his son, which was provided by a small contingent of the CISF, has also been withdrawn.

Roy, once the second-in-command of the TMC, was removed from the post of the party’s national general secretary in February, 2015 after being charged in the Narada tape sting. He had joined the BJP in November, 2017.