The Indian government has decided the Special Protection Group will no longer protect Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. They will instead be protected by paramilitary troops.
The Gandhis belong to the main opposition Congress Party headed by Sonia Gandhi. Until now the the SPG - as the elite guards are known - protected former prime ministers and their families.
In August, SPG protection for former prime minster Manmohan Singh was withdrawn.
The SPG was set up or the security of prime ministers and their families in 1985, a year after Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards.
After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the husband of Sonia Gandhi, the SPG Act was amended to provide security to former PMs and their families for 10 years.
The decision to withdraw security for the Gandhis came in routine review of threats faced by leaders.
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