Delhi Police on high alert, security beefed up for Republic Day celebrations

The Delhi Police has made arrangements for multi-layered security in the national capital for the Republic Day celebrations. Thousands of security personnel will be deployed and CCTV cameras installed at strategic locations to keep vigil. Necessary liaison and rehearsals have been made with other crack units like NSG, SPG & ITBP.  All the agencies will be working in close coordination with each other.

The first three layers of security is of the Delhi Police and their job is to seal the border of New Delhi, which two additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) will monitor along with pickets. The first layer will only check the passes of the people going through that route, in the second layer the vehicles will be checked, and in the third layer, there will be physical checking. The security unit of Delhi Police is in the fourth layer for VIPs. There is also a SWAT team and a paramilitary force. On Republic Day, a total of 48 Company Paramilitary, 17,000 Delhi Police personnel, 2,700Delhi Police personnel in plainclothes will monitor.

A total of 500 X-ray machines will be introduced and 1,000 CCTV cameras will be installed on the parade route. In some places, facial recognition software, in more than 100 cameras, will be installed.

More than 10 mobile Police Control Rooms have been set up and 10 CCTV control rooms have also been built. The national capital will witness 2,000 traffic police personnel and their job is to do parking signings, guide people, and seize the border from the night of January 25. The Delhi-NCR will be a no flying zone on the Republic Day. Sharpshooters will also be deployed at around 500 highrise buildings to keep a watch on the 8km-long parade route from Rajpath.

Apart from securing the main venue at Rajpath, adequate security and traffic arrangements for the At Home function at Rashtrapati Bhawan have been made. A city-wide alert is also being exercised in connection with the Republic Day by all District DCPs.

There will be effective coverage of markets, malls and places of high footfall. Delhi Police has also taken up an extensive tenant verification exercise to identify any suspicious arrival in the city. Borders have been secured and regular coordination is being maintained with the police of neighbouring states. Surprise checks, by placing barricades, will be carried out of vehicles moving under suspicious circumstances. India Gate and other places of tourist interest will be specially catered for keeping in view the possibility of an extra rush of visitors.

Metal detectors will be used for searching and frisking of spectators before entry into the enclosures while all vulnerable rooftop along the parade route are also being covered. The recently launched Mobile Police Control Room Van will be stationed this time at the venue for smooth and seamless communication. Parakram and Prakhar Vans will also be deployed along the parade route to enhance security.

In view of widespread protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and National Register of Citizens, the officials have imposed restrictions on wearing black caps or scarves during Republic Day celebrations, according to news agency PTI. However, the officials said that this has been the practise every year.

Police personnel have been directed to stay utmost alert since Delhi polls are also around the corner. Anti-terror measures like tenant and servant verification, border checking, the security of vital installations, malls and markets, patrolling in heavy footfall areas are being taken, they said. "We have intensified patrolling in public places. Group patrolling, night patrolling and vehicle checking is being carried out with the help of Central Armed Police Forces. Frisking at metro stations, railway stations, airport and bus terminals have also been tightened," a senior police official told PTI.

A traffic advisory has also been issued about the police's elaborate arrangement for route diversions for the Republic Day. No traffic will be allowed on Rajpath from Vijay Chowk to India Gate from 6 pm on Saturday till the parade gets over on January 26 (Sunday). The entry and exit will remain closed at Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhawan from 5 am till 12 pm and Lok Kalyan Marg and Patel Chowk from 8.45 am to 12 pm on Sunday, it added.

Flying of sub-conventional aerial platforms like para-gliders, para-motors, hang gliders, UAVs, UASs, microlight aircraft, remotely piloted aircraft, hot air balloons, small size powered aircraft, quadcopters or para jumping from aircraft are prohibited over the jurisdiction of the National Capital Territory of Delhi till February 15, according to the advisory. It asked people to report to the nearest police station in case any unidentified object or suspicious person is seen.