Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s threat perception has multiplied many times after assuming office, but his security apparatus has possibly slackened as two serious breaches demonstrate. “Whether by inducting trusted officers in the Special Protection Group (SPG) or though other mechanisms, the PM’s protection needs to be enhanced,” the retired official said.

B.V. Wanchoo, predecessor of the outgoing SPG chief K. Durga Prasad, could carry weight in the previous Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), as he was close to the Congress leadership. “No officer in the SPG has the weight to make a point to the PMO today,” a government source said.

While the SPG is kept at arm’s length, Mr. Modi is pushing the boundaries of security protocol. In Bhutan, he stopped the cavalcade in the middle of the journey to interact with children, and in the biggest security scare of all, he ordered the bullet-proof glass enclosure removed for the Independence Day speech at Red Fort in Delhi.

“Blasts in Patna rally of Narendra Modi on October 27, 2013 and inputs about planning of terrorist organisation (sic) to harm Narendra Modi clearly indicate that he faces a high degree of threat to his life … Since his declaration as BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, the threat to Narendra Modi has further escalated,” said a secret report of the Advance Security Liaison (ASL) meeting that advised against Mr. Modi addressing a rally in Benia Bagh in Varanasi during the Lok Sabha election campaign.

The Bharatiya Janata Party targeted the Election Commission for denying permission for the rally. The party overlooked the fact that an Inspector-General and a Deputy Inspector-General of the Gujarat Police were present at the ASL meeting with the Uttar Pradesh Police, the Intelligence Bureau and the National Security Guard, the agency that was protecting Mr. Modi then.