Arun Kumar Sinha, the director of the Special Protection Group (SPG), passed away on Wednesday at Gurgaons Medanta Hospital. He was 61.According to the statement of a senior official, Sinha was under treatment at Medanta Cancer Institute. And his family members and batch mates have been informed about the loss.Sinha, a Kerala cadre IPS officer of the 1987 batch, was the additional director general of police (Special Service and Traffic) and was handling the security of the Prime Minister since 2016. Before he joined, there was no full-time chief of SPG for around 15 months.According to the sources, his tenure was extended by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) led by PM Narendra Modi, a day before his retirement on May 30. The proposal for the re-employment of Sinha for another one year was extended.Sinha during his services had also served Border Security Force (BSF), where he spent most of his career in Kerala and was also in charge of the protection of women and Non-Resident Indian affairs. It is to be noted here that SPG is one of the best forces in the country, specifically raised for the protection of the countrys Prime Minister, former PMs, and their immediate family. The SPG force which currently operates with 3,000 personnels, was started in 1985 in the wake of the killing of then PM Indira Gandhi in 1984.
