The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has extended the deployment of 273 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) companies in the national Capital for a second time until October 31, citing the possibility of “flash protests” by political and other groups, official sources said on Friday.
The companies were initially brought to Delhi for the CJP protests of earlier this month. The MHA directed the Delhi Police and the respective CAPFs on 22nd October to continue the deployment in coordination. The Delhi Police requested the extension, and the Ministry approved it after the Delhi Police had already secured a similar extension in mid-October.
Officials say the Delhi Police have informed the Ministry that political and other outfits may stage flash protests at various ‘sensitive’ locations in the city. The Police have described the continued presence of the CAPF companies as essential to maintain law and order. The MHA have accepted the request (from the Delhi Police).
Of the 273 companies which will be in place with the local police, 125 are from the CRPF (including 20 units of women personnel), 20 from the RAF, 46 from the BSF, 39 from the ITBP, 31 from the SSB and 12 from the CISF.
A CAPF company is sanctioned at 100, but the effective strength is somewhere around 70-72. The gap is due to leave, training, medical unfitness and vacancies. The companies actually on the ground are therefore significantly below their authorised strength. For a commander with multiple sites, this means considerably reduced reserves and longer shifts during protests.
The immediate catalyst for the initial deployment was the CJP protest on 9th October. They demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over what they saw as irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls.
The opposition parties naturally followed up with their own protests on the same issue. On 16 October, the CJP staged its own “Lehra Do Tiranga”, a combination of flag hoisting and continued calls for the CEC’s resignation. Both protests were essentially peaceful and required a significant amount of police presence in various areas.
The sequence of events (two rounds of agitation in a week, followed by a police assessment of further flash actions) has led to two successive extensions in two weeks. With every company already short of nearly 30 men, the continued commitment will clearly stretch the available workforce. Commanders will therefore have to spread the available numbers across the various routes and assembly points, while still maintaining the capacity to deal with any unannounced gatherings.
The Election Commission have not issued a detailed public response to the specific SIR allegations that came up during the protests. The opposition has said the demand for the CEC’s resignation remains. Security planners have been instructed to maintain very close coordination between the Delhi Police and the CAPF formations until the end of the month.