Centre upgrades security cover of EAM S Jaishankar to 'Z' category

New Delhi: The security cover of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been upgraded from the 'Y' category to 'Z', official sources said on Thursday.

The Union home ministry has asked the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to take charge of his security, currently provided by the Delhi Police, they said.

Jaishankar, 68, was being guarded by an armed team of the Delhi Police under the 'Y' category security cover.

He will now be protected by the CRPF under the larger 'Z' category security cover which entails about 14-15 armed commandos moving with him round the clock in shifts across the country, the sources said.

The CRPF's VIP security cover has 176-odd protectees at present, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.