Central security agencies have issued a special advisory to the Delhi Police to be more vigilant while checking the Identity Cards (IDs) of the men and officers of the armed forces who will be on duty during the Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort.
Security agencies are alarmed that the IDs of some 87 officials of the armed forces have been either lost or stolen since 2006. Apprehensions are that terrorist outfits may use those stolen IDs to push subversives to disrupt the event.
According to the advisory, the terrorists may use stolen IDs to gain access in and around the Red Fort during the Independence Day ceremony where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unfurl the national flag and then address the nation from the ramparts of the historic Mughal era monument.
Besides, the Prime Minister, a host of dignitaries and envoys in India will attend the celebration which is expected to be over in two hours. The Gandhi Memorial at Raj Ghat where the Prime Minister will pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi before heading for the Red Fort is also being fully sanitised. Agencies have asked the Delhi Police to carry out a comprehensive checking of the memorial and the adjoining area to ensure that nothing was left to the chance.
Sources said after the recent Gurdaspur (Punjab) terrorist attack, security agencies were alarmed to discover that 87 identify cards of the army officials posted at various units across the country have been lost or stolen, since December 2006. The agencies have alerted the Delhi Police regarding the missing IDs.
The advisory said the IDs of the Armed Forces do not carry the photographs of the personnel so it should be properly scanned at the entry point. "The army officials attending the ceremony should not be allowed without being fully frisked and verified," said a senior Delhi Police officer.
The advisory also said the terrorists may strike in army uniform during the Independence Day celebrations as there are intelligence intercepts. Agencies have intercepted calls from across the border about the designs of the terrorists outfits who are planning to target the Independence Day celebrations at Red Fort.
In Punjab attack the terrorists were wearing army uniform which purportedly helped them cross the border with ease and then they moved in the Indian territory without being challenged. Sources said the Delhi Police has taken serious note of the recent advisory and all the personnel have been asked to maintain extra vigil while scanning the participant during the event.
There will be a three-tier security arrangement in and around the Red Fort where Special Protection Group (SPG), central paramilitary forces and Delhi Police will be deployed in inner, center and outer ring respectively. Elite black cats of the National Security guards, Grey Hounds of the Delhi Police and commandos of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) will be on guard during the ceremony. They will be aided by the snipers atop buildings in the periphery and anti-aircraft guns will be ready to shoot down any misadventure from the sky, the sources added.