On Thursday, Kangana Ranaut, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), posted a picture of a female commando standing behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament.
The MP posted the photo to Instagram, showing Union minister Kiren Rijiju and Prime Minister Modi strolling in front of a female commando dressed in a dark suit. The female commando may be a member of the exclusive Special Protection Group (SPG), according to many users’ conjectures. Her precise service branch is still unknown, though.
Notably, the SPG’s security structure has included female commandos for many years. Women have also been a part of the SPG’s Close Protection Team (CPT) since 2015. India Today claims that there are currently about 100 female commandos in the SPG.
Following the murder of his mother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, by her bodyguards, then-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi established the SPG within the Cabinet Secretariat in April 1985. According to its website, SPG officers have received 347 Police Medals for Meritorious Service, 45 President’s Police Medals for Distinct Service, and a Shaurya Chakra thus far.