JOIN USThousands of armed security personnel were part of a multi-layer security blanket across the capital on Tuesday due to which the 67th Republic Day was celebrated without any untoward incident.
Security was beefed up at sensitive locations near Rajpath, and vehicles entering the capital were randomly checked. In east Delhi's Ghazipur, a suspicious Maruti Gypsy looking like an Indian Army vehicle was also impounded for a brief period as the driver failed to produce documents.
Even as the driver claimed that he had recently purchased the vehicle from the Army during an auction, police were in no mood to take any chances. The driver and the vehicle were released only after he produced genuine documents. “A detailed verification of the documents confirmed that he was the actual owner of the vehicle,” said a police officer.
Sources said Police contacted the Indian Army headquarters to confirme that the vehicle was auctioned and the buyer was the same person who was taken into custody.
According to police, the Gypsy was spotted during patrolling duty in east Delhi’s Ghazipur. “When the driver was asked to produce documents of the vehicle, he claimed that the documents were at home and he had forgotten to carry them with him,” the officer added.
Snipers with sophisticated arms were on high-rises while police personnel kept the eight km parade route from Rajpath to Red Fort under their watch to ensure that the event passed peacefully.
It, however, turned out to be a bitter experience for hundreds of enthusiastic people who braved the winter chill and travel restrictions to turn up at Rajpath. Police near Rajpath were seen denying entry to several valid ticket and pass holders citing overcrowding.
Police had also set up a centralised wireless integrated public address system at 31 crowded spots and markets as well as 13 Delhi Metro stations.
On Tuesday evening, Delhi Police Commissioner Bhim Sain Bassi thanked all security forces for partnering with the department and making Republic Day celebrations a ‘grand success’. Bassi said the security witnessed in the past couple of days was commendable.