Connaught Place Turns into Fortress as Police Gear Up for ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ Protest

Connaught Place area in Central Delhi where the CJP proposes to hold ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march today evening, has been turned into a fortress.

According to police, more than 6000 personal have been deployed. This includes 220 companies of Central Armed Police Forces and an expanded CCTV network. The security blanket has been thrown around Connaught Place, Rajiv Chowk, Central Park, Jantar Mantar, Palika Bazaar, nearby Metro stations and other sensitive locations in Lutyens’ Delhi, with additional personnel being mobilised from other districts to prevent any law-and-order situation during the proposed march at 5 pm.

Police have also positioned barricades at several points, including Connaught Place, Patel Chowk, ITO and Sansad Marg.

The police is keeping hawk eye on several entry and exit points in the commercial district. It is taking all necessary measures to see that the public movement does not come to a standstill.

A senior police officer said that 5,000 additional personnel have been reserved from other districts to bolster the deployment. The authorities are also keeping police force in reserve to handle any situation in case the crowd swells during the night. They are gearing up to deploy about 60 companies in one shift.

As the Central Park does not have any cameras, the police has stepped up surveillance by installing 10 CCTV cameras around the Central Park to monitor the crowds and preserve footage in case any violation of the orders or untoward incidents take place. The Central park has been shut down for public till Saturday.

Officials said it may allow a select group of people to wave national flag and sing national anthem at a suitable spot.

Student organisations, activists and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters are also expected to join the proposed demonstration.

Delhi Police PRO Neha Yadav said the march had not been granted permission and that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS prohibiting mass gatherings were already in force in Connaught Place and surrounding areas.

Yadav said market and trade associations in and around Connaught Place had submitted written requests seeking protection for their establishments, citing concerns that large gatherings were affecting business.