he Congress on Saturday accused the Centre of indulging in "political espionage" and thus infringing on both the security and privacy of its vice president Rahul Gandhi after two Delhi police personnel visited his house, inquiring about his personal details. Even as visibly riled Congress leaders insisted that the Gandhis should enjoy complete immunity from disclosures on their "private activities", sources said that the government was dissatisfied with the several gaps in the reports about Rahul's movements that should be submitted on a daily basis by the Special Protection Group personnel detailed to provide him with security. For long, such details were not even recorded in the name of privacy, in contrast to other VVIPs, all of whom had full details recorded of guests and visitors.

Sources said that some of the SPG personnel had developed personal loyalty to the protectee or were on some occasions oblivious of his whereabouts for significant periods of time in the country and abroad. Also, often no information was accessed on those meeting Rahul Gandhi or even staying in locations known to be frequently visited by the Congress vice president, especially foreign nationals. This was unacceptable as Rahul Gandhi being a high risk target had to be always under the security scanner. For his own protection, it is regarded as essential that full details be available of such contacts, in case some of them are discovered to pose risks.

Sources said that after the Congress led UPA government came to power in 2004, Bharat Wanchoo, a family loyalist and then an IGP rank officer, was given charge of the SPG, superseding many top officials. He remained at the helm of affairs till his superannuation and was subsequently made the Governor of Goa, a post he held until he was asked to resign by the present government. Wanchoo was accused by some of his colleagues in the police of preferring to serve the family rather than the institution (SPG) and overlooked certain procedures to safeguard the privacy of the Gandhis.

In the process, the whereabouts of the Gandhis while on foreign trips were often not recorded. When Sonia Gandhi had gone to New York for treatment, some years ago, the SPG personnel, although present in the city, had no access to either her or the people (doctors) she was meeting. Wanchoo knew personally what was going on but had not shared the details with either the rest of his SPG colleagues or with the Indian intelligence agencies, which relied on other sources to fill in their proformas. Incidentally, Wanchoo's name also figured in the controversial Westland Helicopter deal.

Sources said that the present government was alarmed that there had been reports filed by the SPG that Rahul Gandhi often managed to give a slip to his security personnel. For instance, this happened when he had gone to Dubai sometime ago. The SPG team was left waiting for him there while he managed to evade them and reportedly travelled to different locations on his own. Till the UPA period, the host country would oblige by granting him security, but this has not been happening since the NDA came to power. The present SPG chief, Vivek Srivastava, a senior IPS officer of the Gujarat cadre, wants to streamline the functioning of the organisation, leaving nothing to chance in the matter of Rahul Gandhi's security. Gaps in reportage are being sought to be plugged in the interests of the VVIP. Srivastava insists that the SPG chief should at all times be aware about the movements of his protectees.

Rahul continues to remain a high security target and thereby guarding his security was sacrosanct. "If God forbid, something was to happen to Rahul, the government at the Centre will be blamed," a top security expert said on the condition of anonymity.

Sources said that the government had a fair idea where Rahul was at present, even though his party was oblivious of the place where he was doing his introspection. The inquiries by the Delhi police personnel may have been dismissed as routine, but there was a need to gather information about his personal details for his own protection. The Delhi police and other agencies have also been worried that many foreigners continue to visit Rahul's residence on Tughlak Lane as well as other locations frequented by the VVIP, who is among the most influential politicians in the country and tipped to take over the reins of the Congress party next month. Even though they are invitees of the family, their antecedents need to be shared with Indian intelligence in case there is information, which may not have been otherwise available to the family. "The government cannot take a risk that an acquaintance gains access to the protectee in the garb of representing an NGO or some other institution and lays a trap for him at the behest of some foreign agency," an officer said.

Therefore, the Centre is keen that real time information from the SPG should be forthcoming and relevant details of who met him and where he went should ordinarily be a part of a routine exercise and no attempt should be made to either conceal information or mislead superiors.

The SPG was constituted after the assassination of Indira Gandhi and protected Rajiv Gandhi and his family to begin with. The Vishwanath Pratap Singh government had withdrawn Rajiv's security cover and many believe that had that not been done, he may have been alive. The SPG comprises personnel drawn from various para-military and state police organisations and intelligence agencies, and has the cream of the Indian police forces. Ordinarily there is a routine re-shuffle of officers after a period but due to close proximity with the protectees, many officials have managed to remain with the elite organisation well beyond the years they were supposed to be with it.

A former SPG official said that the normal tenure in the organisation is for five years, but since there are a number of vacancies, certain officers get an extension or are given another tenure. According to him, the SPG chief has to, at all times, know where the protectee is and there can be no exception to this. "The SPG routinely gets intelligence from various quarters on the threat perception and organises its cover accordingly. If the whereabouts of the protectee are not known, how can that happen? If a protectee is travelling abroad, there is all the more reason to share the information since the intelligence agencies can request friendly governments to help in enhancing the security."

Another officer from the UP police said that the state police has lodged protests with the SPG in the past when Rahul pays a surprise visit to his constituency keeping them in the dark. The local authorities must at all times also know where he is so that adequate arrangements can be made.

On Saturday, Delhi Police Commissioner Bhim Sain Bassi defended his action of sending policemen to Rahul's residence by describing it as a "routine exercise" to profile residents of Lutyens' Zone and claimed that details of top functionaries including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh had also been recorded. However, top Congress leaders insisted on drawing parallels with the snooping by two Haryana policemen in March 1991 at 10, Janpath, which led to Rajiv Gandhi withdrawing support from the Chandrshekar government, resulting in a midterm poll. Rajiv was assassinated during the campaign, although the snooping was never linked to the crime by the Special investigation Team (SIT) led by D.R. Karthikeyan, which probed the incident.