Kannur: The Kerala government has withdrawn or scaled down police security for several political leaders following a review by the Security Review Committee. The move includes withdrawing protection from leaders no longer considered to face security threats and removing police personnel deployed outside their residences.

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Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan's Z+ security cover has been downgraded to Y category. During travel, he will now have a pilot vehicle instead of a convoy. His security will include a gunman and two Personal Security Guards (PSGs).

Valsan Thillankeri, acting state president of the Hindu Aikya Vedi and an RSS leader, will now have only one personal security guard. He had been provided with two PSGs during the previous government's tenure.
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Police protection for BJP state general secretary M T Ramesh has been withdrawn completely. Security cover for former BJP state presidents C K Padmanabhan and P K Krishnadas has also been discontinued. Padmanabhan had earlier informed the government that he no longer required security.

Police protection for former BJP district president O.K. Vasu has also been withdrawn. Vasu, who joined the CPM, is currently the president of the Malabar Devaswom Board. Security for A Ashokan, who also left the BJP to join the CPM, and Aralam Sajeevan, an RSS district-level office-bearer, has been withdrawn as well.

The government has also discontinued security for former Justice B. Kemal Pasha and BJP leader A.P. Abdullakkutty.

The Home Department cited a decline in political clashes and an improvement in the law-and-order situation in the Malabar region as reasons for withdrawing protection.
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Over 50 leaders still under security cover

More than 50 political leaders, apart from Central and state ministers, continue to receive special security protection.

Those under security cover include former Union minister A K Antony, CPM general secretary M A Baby, CPM state secretary M V Govindan, P Jayarajan, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, BJP national secretary K Surendran, former KPCC president and MP K Sudhakaran, P V Abdul Wahab and MLA K K Rema.

Security arrangements for CPM leader P Jayarajan, including a gunman provided by the LDF government and four police personnel stationed at his residence, will continue.

The three police personnel deployed at the Thalassery residence of Speaker A N Shamseer will also remain in place. CPM central committee member E P Jayarajan continues to have protection from two PSGs.

RSS regional office-bearer V Sasidharan is provided security by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

Other leaders who continue to receive police protection include MLAs V Kunhikrishnan, T K Govindan, G Sudhakaran and N Sakthan; CPM leaders P K Sreemathy and T P Ramakrishnan; UDF convener and MP Adoor Prakash; RMP secretary K Venu; and RMP Orkkatteri area secretary Balakrishnan.