Security up for Uddhav, Aditya

Mumbai: The city police on Saturday upgraded security provided to Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aditya, after the State Intelligence Department sent a recommendation to the effect.

Senior Mumbai Police officers confirmed that Uddhav’s security had been upgraded from Z to Z Plus, while Aditya, who earlier had X level security, has now been given Y Plus level police cover. “We received a report from the SID earlier this week, which recommended that their security be upgraded. We acted on the report and instructed the Protection and Security branch. The upgraded security was brought into effect from Saturday,” a Mumbai Police officer said.

As per the new security levels, Uddhav has been provided a bulletproof vehicle and additional personnel armed with MP5 submachine guns, while Aditya has also been provided extra security personnel.

Sources in the Shiv Sena said Uddhav and his family were on a holiday in Japan and returned to India on Friday night. On Saturday, they were informed about the upgrade in their security by the police.

The SID keeps a tab on political development in the State, and among its duties is assessing threat perceptions to political figures. The department has a say in all decision pertaining to providing, upgrading, downgrading or removing the security provided by concerned police commissionerates to political figures.