Delhi Police has put in place a two-tier barricading system at the Capital’s border points, using conventional barricades and jersey barriers in multiple layers, as security agencies step up measures to prevent protesters from entering the city ahead of Saturday’s protest call by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), officials aware of the arrangements said on Friday.
The heightened security at Chilla, Ghazipur, Apsara, and Singhu borders comes after the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) extended its support to the protest being organised to seek Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The police have also stepped up surveillance of transport operators and accommodation facilities to track any organised mobilisation ahead of the protest. An All India Youth Federation member from Mumbai also claimed to have received a call from Delhi Police while he was travelling to the Capital and questioned about his participation in the protest.
“Paramilitary personnel and local police have already been deployed at the borders, while Uttar Pradesh Police have also stationed personnel at key junctions on their side of the border to prevent protesters from entering the Capital,” a senior police officer said, seeking anonymity. “The barricades have been placed in layers, with regular police barricades followed by jersey barriers, to ensure that any attempt by groups to force their way into Delhi can be stopped,” the officer said. Teams have been asked to monitor bus bookings and destinations, particularly those involving groups travelling towards New Delhi, officials said. A senior officer said the police are also keeping a watch on railway stations and the airport for groups arriving from other cities. Specialised units, including the Special Cell and Crime Branch, have been tasked with tracking key organisers and members of groups expected to participate in the protest, officials said. He claimed that an officer accused him of travelling with a large group and called him a “terrorist” after he questioned the police action. He said he later got off the train at Faridabad and returned home.
