Delhi Police has intensified security across the national capital ahead of a protest announced by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar, with more than 35,000 Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel deployed and ten locations identified to hold people detained during the demonstration, Live Hindustan – NCR reported on Saturday.
The deployment follows intelligence inputs that the protest could draw a large crowd. Jantar Mantar has been placed under heightened security, while police have also increased security at the locations selected for holding detainees. According to the report, these facilities are located away from central New Delhi and are spread across the outer parts of the capital.
A police officer cited by Live Hindustan – NCR said the ten locations had been selected in advance to accommodate people detained during the Saturday protest. The report identifies Chhatrasal Stadium in Model Town, the New Police Lines, Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Bawana, Surajmal Stadium in Nangloi, Tyagraj Stadium and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in south Delhi among the selected locations. It does not provide the names of the remaining four sites.
The arrangements show how a large public demonstration in central Delhi can require detention and crowd-management capacity well beyond the protest venue itself. Facilities normally associated with sports, policing and public events may be brought into the security plan when authorities anticipate a sizeable mobilisation and the possibility of multiple detentions.
The report said security had already been increased at the identified facilities, with additional forces deployed there. It also said the Union Home Secretary had issued directions to states and Union territories to maintain law and order, although the supplied report does not provide the text or scope of that direction.
According to an ANI report cited by Live Hindustan – NCR, police had begun detaining some people near Janpath in the Connaught Place area on Saturday. The report also said police were monitoring people with criminal records and individuals suspected of encouraging others to join the gathering. These claims are attributed to police and news-agency reports; the supplied material does not give the number of people detained or details of any charges.
The expanded security arrangement covers both the immediate protest zone and transport and public-space corridors in central Delhi. The use of venues in Model Town, Bawana, Nangloi and south Delhi indicates that the police plan is intended to distribute detainees across several parts of the city rather than concentrate them near Jantar Mantar.
Delhi Police has appealed to people to follow the law and maintain public order. The next operational milestone is the conduct of the announced Saturday protest and the police response at Jantar Mantar and other monitored locations.
