Delhi Police will deploy an additional 450-500 women paramilitary personnel for the October 10 ‘Jantar Mantar 2.0’ protest, taking the total Central Armed Police Forces presence in the capital to around 26,000, according to officers quoted by The Indian Express. The deployment is being planned amid expectations of a large turnout of women protesters.
At least five all-women companies will support Delhi Police during the protest, officials said. The additional personnel will be deployed over and above women officers already serving with Delhi Police. Police said the decision was based on the substantial participation of women in earlier protests and in demonstrations held in the preceding days.
The planned CAPF deployment will be the largest in Delhi since the 2020 North East Delhi riots, according to the report. Around 11,000 additional central force personnel are expected to be deployed for October 10. In the New Delhi district, where Jantar Mantar is located, 5,000 Delhi Police personnel are currently deployed, with the number potentially rising to 15,000, officers said.
The police are also engaging Residents’ Welfare Associations and paying-guest accommodation owners in areas with large student populations. A senior police officer told The Indian Express that PG owners were being asked to inform students that Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita was in force in the New Delhi district.
According to the officer, police were telling students that assemblies in the area on October 10 would be unlawful and asking them to take this into account. The outreach is being conducted alongside regular public meetings with RWAs in neighbourhoods where many students live.
Police preparations also extend to Delhi’s borders. Officers said they would monitor large groups seeking to enter the city before the protest. The areas identified for particular attention include the Uttar Pradesh border around East Delhi and Shahdara, the Haryana border around Dwarka, and the Rajasthan border along southwest Delhi.
Barricades and checks are expected on routes leading towards the New Delhi district, with officers saying the objective is to prevent large groups from assembling in the area. Police have described the border monitoring as part of a wider effort to manage the expected crowd and maintain order around the protest venue.
The deployment plan places central Delhi’s protest-management system under significant pressure, with personnel, restrictions on assembly and movement checks being coordinated across the venue district, residential areas with student populations and entry points into the capital. Further details of the arrangements will depend on the police assessment ahead of the October 10 demonstration.
