The Union government has ordered the complete withdrawal of the National Security Guard (NSG) from VIP security duties, transitioning the protection of nine "high-risk" VIPs to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) by next month, official sources said on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved the creation of a new battalion of specially trained personnel, recently withdrawn from Parliament security, to support the CRPF's VIP security wing. This battalion will be added to the six existing CRPF VIP security battalions, bringing the total to seven.

The nine high-profile VIPs, who currently receive 'Z plus' security from NSG 'black cat' commandos, will now be under CRPF protection. These include Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani.

Other prominent individuals whose security will be transitioned include Union Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. The CRPF will also take over the protection of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah.

This move represents a significant shift in security management for these figures, ensuring they continue to receive the highest level of protection under the CRPF's specialised forces. The transfer of responsibilities between the NSG and CRPF is expected to be completed by November.

Two of the nine VIPs, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, will also have the CRPF's advanced security liaison (ASL) protocol in place, which involves a reconnaissance of locations to be visited by the VIP.

The CRPF already implements the ASL protocol for five of its other VIPs, including Home Minister Amit Shah, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and three members of the Gandhi family—Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The decision to relieve the NSG from VIP security tasks has been in consideration since 2012 when NSG commanders anticipated the need to deploy commandos for counter-terrorist operations across multiple locations in case of simultaneous attacks. In 2020, after the Special Protection Group (SPG) was removed from protecting the Gandhi family, the MHA committee recommended withdrawing the NSG from VIP security duties.

The government aims to "restructure" the NSG by reallocating its personnel to form 'strike teams' in high-risk areas, such as near the Ram temple in Ayodhya and other critical sites in southern India.

Once completed, this withdrawal will end over two decades of the NSG's involvement in VIP security—a responsibility not included in its original mandate when the force was established in 1984. The NSG, celebrating its 40th raising day on Wednesday, was initially designed to focus on counter-terrorism and counter-hijacking operations.

The Union government believes the NSG should return to its original charter, as securing high-risk VIPs has become a "burden" on the force's specialised capabilities. Around 450 'black cat' commandos will be freed up for other duties once the transition is complete, sources said.