Govt slashes security for wife of Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI: The Centre has downgraded the security cover of Gursharan Kaur, wife of late ex-PM Manmohan Singh, from Z-plus to Z, based on her revised threat perception

Sources in the govt told TOI that a recent review by central intelligence agencies found her threat level to be lower, leading them to place her under Z category protection. Singh had passed away at the age of 92 on Dec 26, 2024.

CRPF will continue to man Kaur's Z security detail, though with scaled down protocol and lesser number of personnel. Singh was given Z-plus CRPF cover with ASL protocol in 2019 after SPG protection was limited to five years post-tenure for former PMs and their kin.

Singh was provided Z-plus cover, along with an advanced security liaison (ASL) protocol of CRPF in 2019, after the govt changed the Special Protection Group Act to restrict SPG protection for former prime ministers and their immediate kin living at the former's allotted residence, to five years after the ex-PM has demitted office.