Centre downgrades security cover for ex-PM Manmohan Singh's wife

NEW DELHI: The Centre has downgraded the security cover of Gursharan Kaur, wife of late ex-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, from Z-plus to Z, based on her revised threat perception.Sources in the govt told TOI that a recent review by the Central intelligence agencies had found her threat level to be lower, leading them to stipulate her to be placed under ‘Z’ category protection.Former PM Manmohan Singh had passed away at the age of 92 on December 26, 2024.CRPF will continue to man her ‘Z’ security detail, though with scaled down protocol and lesser number of personnel.A PTI report said Kaur will have the protection of about a dozen armed commandos for her personal protection as well as for her home.Manmohan Singh was provided Z-plus cover, along with an advanced security liaison (ASL) protocol of the CRPF in 2019, after the government 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.Singh had served as prime minister for two terms between 2004 and 2014.