Delhi is preparing for a large protest mobilisation this weekend, with 23,000 Central Armed Police Forces personnel being made available to the city police, additional women personnel being deployed and restrictions planned around Central Delhi. The measures follow calls by the Cockroach Janta Party and the All India Students’ Association for a sit-in at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, while Opposition parties are also expected to participate.
The Delhi Police has not granted permission for the protest, citing prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Police officers said the intelligence unit anticipates that more than 50,000 people, including participants from adjoining states, could gather in the capital. The security deployment is intended to prevent protesters from reaching Jantar Mantar and other sensitive areas of Central Delhi, according to officers quoted by The Indian Express.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has made 221 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces available to the Delhi Police from October 8 to 12. The deployment includes CRPF companies being brought in from Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. Officers said the forces would assist with crowd management, protect key government buildings and maintain law and order in the New Delhi district.
The deployment is among the largest Central forces mobilisations for protest-related law-and-order duties in Delhi since the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, the report said. An additional 450 to 500 women paramilitary personnel are also expected to join the operation, taking the total Central forces strength deployed for the arrangements to about 26,000. They will work alongside women personnel of the Delhi Police because officers expect a significant turnout of women protesters.
The New Delhi district, where Jantar Mantar is located, currently has about 5,000 Delhi Police personnel deployed. Officers said the number could increase to 15,000. Multi-layered barricades are being installed on roads leading to Jantar Mantar and Parliament, while prohibitory orders have also been imposed at Rajghat. Police are monitoring entry points on Delhi’s borders and looking for large groups travelling into the city before Saturday.
The security measures are also expected to affect businesses and visitors in central areas. At the request of the police, the Excise Department has been asked to direct liquor vendors to remain closed on Friday and Saturday because of the possibility of law-and-order problems. Central Delhi hotels have also been asked to restrict room bookings. Police officials said students would be informed that assemblies in the New Delhi district on October 10 would be unlawful under the prevailing orders.
The protests were announced after the Opposition said on Thursday that its demonstrations would continue until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resigns. The next operational milestone is Saturday’s proposed gathering at Jantar Mantar, which authorities have not authorised and for which Delhi Police are continuing preparations at entry points, roads and sensitive government zones.
