Ranchi, July 3 (IANS) Expressing displeasure over the functioning of the police department, Jharkhand Finance Minister Radha Krishna Kishore, who represents the Congress in the state government, has returned his entire official security cover after he was denied an additional vehicle.

He has returned all 16 security personnel assigned to him, along with the three government vehicles provided for their deployment.

Following the decision, the Minister was seen attending various public engagements in Ranchi without any security escort.

A few days ago, Kishore had written to the Director General of Police (DGP), requesting an additional vehicle for the movement of his security personnel.

According to him, while 16 security personnel had been deployed for his protection, the existing vehicles allotted to him do not accommodate them and forced them to travel in overcrowded conditions, making the security setup neither practical nor effective.

Sources said no decision was taken on his request. Instead, the police headquarters reportedly sent a communication to his personal secretary seeking the withdrawal of one of the vehicles already allotted for his security arrangement.

In his letter, the Minister described the situation as “embarrassing” and announced that he was returning the entire security cover.

On Friday morning, Kishore attended an event at the Khelgaon Stadium before proceeding to the Project Bhawan Secretariat. During these engagements, he was not accompanied by any security convoy or official security vehicle.

The Finance Minister maintained that operating a convoy of three large vehicles solely for the movement of 16 security personnel was neither efficient nor justified from the standpoint of security and resource utilisation. He stressed that any security arrangement should be both practical and effective.

His move is seen as a strong expression of dissatisfaction with the police headquarters. However, neither the state government nor the police headquarters has issued any official response to the matter so far.

–IANS

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