Heavy-duty security

Guess who is doing brisk business as Bihar gears up for Assembly elections later this year. A bullet-proofing facility in Meerut claims it is overburdened with work, as Tata Safaris, Toyota Fortuners and Mahindra Scorpios keep lining up to get armoured because the state has traditionally seen a lot of violence during polls. Apparently, a lot of demand for bomb-proofing also comes from Maoist-affected areas in Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Of course, bullet-proofing or bomb-proofing of cars comes at a price - it can be anything between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 25 lakh depending on the size of the vehicle.