With officials suspecting a Maoist threat on his life, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao could soon have a new bulletproof bus worth Rs 7 crore, for his district tours.
The proposal to procure the completely bullet-proof bus, is reportedly being looked into by the state's Transport department.
According to reports, KCR is expected to tour the entire state as it goes to the polls next year, and as the threat perception was high, the new bus will be manufactured with this in mind.
The Times of India reported that a committee has been constituted with the Roads and Buildings (R&B) principal secretary Sunil Sharma, to look into the propsal.
"The committee will look into all the required features of the new bullet and mine proof bus and will send the proposal to GAD for final approval. It would take a minimum two to three months to get the bus ready after finalizing the tenders," a senior official of the transport department told ToI.
In 2015, KCR faced a lot of flak for purchasing a Rs 5 crore luxury bus, which was manufactured by Mercedes Benz.
The completely bullet proof bus, which was loaded with many modern-day features so that the CM could hold meetings while travelling, was transported from Chandigarh on a truck to Hyderabad.
This bus is now said to have been kept on stand-by, as a second option, as the new bus will have far more advanced security features.
KCR presently enjoys Z+ security, which involves round-the-clock personal security.
In May last year, a group of 18 commandos from the anti-naxal force GreyHounds replaced personnel from the Telangana State Special Police (TSSP) as part of his security convoy, based on intelligence inputs.
In 2016, the Telangana Chief Minister moved into ‘Pragathi Bhavan’, which comprised of the CM's residence and office. Spread over 9 acres, the bungalow has bullet proof windows, a mini-auditorium, a large office space and is guarded like a fortress.