THE Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has strengthened RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s security by upping his existing ‘Z+’ armed protection to the more robust Advanced Security Liaison (ASL) protocol. This upgrade involves augmenting the security measures currently provided by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel. The ASL status brings Bhagwat’s security level on par with that of Home Minister Amit Shah. Officials told ANI that the new directions wereissued on August 16 considering fresh threat analysis report submitted to the MHA by theIntelligence Bureau. They said that the ASL protocol was previouslyrequired only during Bhagwat’s visits to certainsensitive locations.