The terror attack in France earlier this month killed 85 people and left over 300 injured. A 19-tonne cargo truck was deliberately driven into crowds celebrating Bastille Day, the French National Day.
As Delhiites prepare for Independence Day, intelligence agencies warn of a terror strike of similar intensity, even targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Flag hoisting ceremonies, parades and cultural events are observed on the day throughout the city.
Intelligence inputs have warned of terrorists possibly using a drone to launch an attack at Red Fort during the Prime Minister’s speech. Reports suggest that the threat is based on calls intercepted between terrorist handlers in Pakistan and militants here. A drone as small as a toy helicopter could be used to drop a low-intensity bomb.
Last year and in 2014, Modi had decided to do away with a bulletproof enclosure while addressing the nation on August 15.
Security agencies are also prepared for the worst following the killing of Burhan Wani, the commander of militant group Hizbul Mujahideen, in an encounter on July 8 which triggered the still continuing protests in Kashmir Valley. Wani aimed to unfurl the “flag of Islam on Delhi’s Red Fort”.
The anticipated threat has forced the Central government to plan deployment of a multi-layered security cover with over 40,000 security personnel keeping vigil across the city.
Apart from Special Protection Group and National Security Guard, personnel from the three Armed forces, Delhi Police, central paramilitary forces and several other agencies will be involved in the security arrangements.
Over 12,000 of them will be deployed in and around Red Fort.
“We will make ground to air security arrangements to counter any possible terror strike. The area surrounding Red Fort will be fortified and sharpshooters will be deployed on high-rise building,” says Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma.
Several emergency routes and exits will be put in place at Red Fort, and the Indian Air Force will also be asked to watch out for ‘small flying
objects’.
“To neutralise the threat of an air-borne strike, a no-fly zone will be put in place over Red Fort. A heightened security cover will also be in place around Rajghat where the Prime Minister will lay a wreath at Mahatma Gandhi’s samadhi,” another police officer adds.
Sources say all buildings within the three or four kilometers of Red Fort would be thoroughly checked by security personnel to make sure that nobody is at the terrace during the parade. Small drones have also been used by security agencies in the past for policing.
Around 5,000 personnel from local police, special cell and security wing of Delhi Police will be deployed in and around Red Fort.
“This year, the number of CCTV cameras will also be increased to extensively cover the route that will be taken by the Prime Minister and other dignitaries to reach Red Fort,” the officer says.
Over 500 CCTV cameras will be installed in and around Red Fort with a centralised control room. Delhi Police had floated a tender for installing the CCTVs on a contract basis. They will have several features, including pan, tilt and zoom, and high megapixels in addition to being waterproof.
“The footage will be monitored from the control room that will be set up at the nearest police station and will be simultaneously monitored at the police headquarters,” Verma adds.
In the past few days, security personnel and traffic police, besides personnel from other services like fire brigade and disaster management have also been holding drills at Red Fort and other places in Delhi to check their preparedness and response time.
Specialised units like quick reaction teams, bomb squads and dog squads will also be deployed, along with the commando units of Delhi Police, at sensitive points.
Meanwhile, teams from the special cell and local police are carrying out checks and verifying occupants in hotels and guest houses in the city. A team of 20 special cell officers has also been monitoring social networking websites and mobile applications from their Lodhi Colony office.
An officer said monitoring the volume of material on social media sites is a challenge.
“We use keywords to crack the coded language between suspected terrorists,” he says. The unit is now planning to procure software that filters “incriminating material”.
“With the help of this surveillance, we can identify people behind the radicalisation and their potential targets,” the officer adds.
In the last six months, Delhi Police have arrested around a dozen suspected terrorists, indoctrinated through Internet. In May, three “highly radicalised” youths were arrested in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh for their alleged link with Jaish-e-Mohammed and for making IEDs to carry out bombings in Delhi.
Sajid Ahmad, Sameer Ahmed and Shakir Ansari were allegedly in touch with Jaish-e-Mohammed members through social networking sites and were waiting for instructions to carry out terror strikes. The three men had also lured 10 youths from Delhi, who were detained and later let off.
Metro security
Every year security is beefed up on the Delhi Metro network for Independence Day. Long queues of people being frisked at Metro stations can be seen during the run-up to the big event that takes place at Red Fort.
“Every year during Independence Day the CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) personnel start taking more time in frisking each passenger, resulting in long queues at frisking area especially during rush hours,” says Sonam Sharma, who takes the Metro daily to reach her office.
But the CISF, which is responsible for maintaining security on the Delhi Metro network, says that its staff has been following the standard procedure. “Rather we deploy extra staff for frisking passengers during rush hours or whenever crowd builds up,” says a CISF official.
The CISF personnel have been acting tough with people found taking pictures on Metro premises.
“Earlier the CISF staff used to stop us from taking pictures on the platforms but off late they are not even allowing to take picture near the token counter,” says Rohit Kumar, a south Delhi resident.
“A couple of days ago, I was trying to take a selfie near the token counter of Barakhamba Metro station. A CISF official came running to me and told me that taking pictures on Metro premises is prohibited. He made sure that I deleted pictures of Delhi Metro from my cell phone,” adds Kumar.
Maintaining security on the Delhi Metro network is a real challenge with over 26 lakh people on it every day. Around Independence Day, it gets even more serious.
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