Tight security cover keeps protesters at bay

NEW DELHI: The capital didn’t witness any violence or ruckus on Thursday owing to the tight security cover across the city ahead of Republic Day celebrations.
Deployment was stepped up in many areas, especially central and New Delhi districts, and known offenders like Vishnu Gupta of Hindu Sena and others were taken under preventive detention for the entire day for “questioning”.
A seven-layer security envelope has been put around vital installations with multiple checkpoints before entering Lutyens’ Delhi. There are clear instructions to stop fringe groups from creating a ruckus during the visit by the heads of states for the Asean summit.
On Friday, the city will be under maximum security cover of Delhi Police personnel along with paramilitary and NSG commandos, apart from a ground-to-air vigil. More than 30,000 cops will be stationed in important areas to thwart any untoward incident. Spotters and snipers have been placed at strategic locations, like highrise buildings.
On Thursday evening, cops visited the Rajput colonies in northeast, northwest and outer Delhi to hold meetings with their leaders urging them to stop youths from resorting to vandalism during protests against the movie Padmaavat. Ground-level intelligence has been developed to take miscreants under preventive detention as they could create trouble after the Republic Day programme.
“Hit teams” stationed at police stations have been put on high alert after the incidents of violence in Gurgaon. Policemen in plainclothes have been deployed to keep a check on suspicious activities near cinema halls. Volunteers of the “eyes and ears” scheme have also been asked to stay alert. Food stall owners near the theatres have been asked to keep a watch on customers.
Traffic cops started blocking access to Lutyens’ Delhi from 2am onwards.