Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh were provided additional force in the wake of their comments on the subject of intolerance
IN a major overhaul, Mumbai Police have downgraded or nixed the security cover for 25 Bollywood celebrities, including actors Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. Senior officials confirming the development stressed that the move was needed to nix ‘unwanted’ security cover.
The two Khans were provided additional force in the wake of their comments on the subject of intolerance. The officials said an assessment review had pointed out the actors no longer faced any threat. While Shah Rukh Khan has been considered a target since 2013, Aamir Khan got an additional cover after he expressed his views on the raging debate over acts of intolerance in November. But now, after the overhaul, only two armed constables will shadow the two actors in two shifts. The armed protocol and armed vehicles have been called back, confirmed officials.“We were providing security to around 40 Bollywood celebrities. But now we have trimmed the list and have brought it down to around 15 personalities against whom there are genuine threat perception,” confirmed an IPS official. “A lot of manpower gets wasted in providing security to celebrities, and it is at times unwarranted. An audit was recently conducted and security of over 20 personalities have been either nixed or trimmed,” added a police source.