Delhi Police will deploy more than 6,000 personnel in and around Connaught Place and central Delhi on Friday, ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party ’s (CJP) proposed “Lehra Do Tiranga” protest, even as officials said that a “select few people” could be allowed to conduct a march at a “suitable place”.
Protest Plans and Police Restrictions
Both were sent to five days of judicial custody. “The CJP has issued an appeal for a march at Central Park in Connaught Place at 5pm with a national flag. The local police deployment will be in addition to around 26,000 personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) stationed in the Capital over the past week following the CJP’s call for protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner ( CEC ) Gyanesh Kumar. During the October 10 protest, Delhi Police had deployed around 5,000 personnel in the New Delhi district, which includes Connaught Place, Rajiv Chowk, Central Park, nearby metro stations, Jantar Mantar and Palika Bazaar. The march, scheduled for 5pm on October 16, is expected to be joined by Dipke, student organisations, activists and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Neha Yadav, deputy commissioner of police and public relations officer, said police had not granted permission for a large march and had imposed prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in Connaught Place and surrounding areas. “Given the current security situation, a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the BNSS is already in effect in Connaught Place and surrounding areas. NDMC has informed the Delhi Police that Central Park will remain closed on October 16 and 17,” she added.
The Aam Aadmi Party has also urged its supporters and the public to join this protest and attend in large numbers,” Yadav said. The sweeping security arrangements come after CJP convenor Abhijeet Dipke announced the flag march following the arrest of co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka on Tuesday morning.
