Punjab Police is leaving no stone unturned to ensure foolproof security in the border State, especially in Gurdaspur district, where the Chief Minister would unfurl the tricolour for the first time even in the independent India.
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is scheduled to hoist the national flag at Government College stadium, which is 20 kilometres from the international border, on Tuesday on the occasion of India’s 70th Independence Day.
Being a border district, the police is tightening the security in and around the district, guarding all roads closely, setting up special nakas, besides keeping a close watch on the militants and gangsters activities.
As a precautionary measure, the Gurdaspur district police has drawn a list of suspected hideouts of the militants and gangsters.
Taking serious note of the intelligence inputs of militants infiltrating from across the border, the police is making security arrangements. “The police has prepared two lists of hideouts. One list pertains to the hideouts of international terrorists, while the second pinpoints the locations of gangsters’ dens,” said a senior police official.
The official said that the suspected route taken by the terrorists, who had attacked Dinanagar police station in 2015, was also being sanitized. Even the officers of the neighbouring Pathankot district have also been asked to keep a close eye on the assumed route taken by the four militants, who laid siege to the airbase on January 2 last year.
The Deputy Commissioner has also asked the police to install CCTV cameras at strategic points on the route to be taken by the Chief Minister’s cavalcade to reach the BSF Guest House after his chopper lands at Tibri cantonment on the evening of August 14.
“CCTV cameras have been installed on the eight-km stretch and a special control room has also been set up to keep an eye,” said an official.
The police is taking extra precautions as only previous month, the reports of possible infiltration was received as the police had searched Dera Baba Nanak.
Batala police had also managed to smash three hideouts of infamous gangster Vicky Gonder where he, along with his accomplice, took the shelter after the Nabha Jail break in November 2016.
Besides, a 38-member Special Security Group (SSG) team and SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team have been stationed at Pathankot, which will be sent to Gurdaspur in case of an emergency.
In addition, 11 special strike teams, each comprising five elite commandos, are on duty in Pathankot. Over 1,100 cops are being deployed.
The state director general of police (DGP) Suresh Arora, ADGP (Border) Harpreet Singh Sidhu and IG (Border) Naunihal Singh will arrive on August 14.