The Delhi Police on Saturday intensified security at all border points of the city as thousands of personnel including paramilitary forces were deployed to deal with any situation emerging out of the nationwide “chakka jam”.
Police also detained around 50 people near Shaheedi Park in central Delhi for allegedly holding a protest in support of the ‘chakka jam’ call given by the farmers.
Police forces were also deployed at important junctions across the national capital including Red Fort and ITO which witnessed violence on January 26 during the tractor parade by the protesting farmers in which over 500 police personnel were injured and a protester died.
Drone cameras were pressed into service to keep a tight vigil at protest sites. Multi-layered barricades, barbed wires and nail-studded roads at the protest sites are also part of the precautionary measures taken by the police force.
“In view of the violence that took place on January 26, adequate security arrangements have been put in place by the Delhi Police at the borders so that miscreants are not able enter the national capital. Police teams are monitoring content on the social media to make sure rumours are not spread against the police. The protestors are camping at the borders of Delhi. We are in touch with the police force of other states also,” said Chinmoy Biswal, the Public Relation Officer (PRO) of Delhi Police on Friday.
Thousands of farmers have been camping at several Delhi border points, demanding a complete repeal of the three farm laws — the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act — and legal guarantee of minimum support price for their crops.
Enacted in September 2020, the government has presented these laws as major farm reforms aimed at increasing farmers’ income, but the protesting farmers have raised concerns that these legislations would weaken the minimum support price (MSP) and “mandi” (wholesale market) systems and leave them at the mercy of big corporations.
The government has maintained that these apprehensions are misplaced and has ruled out a repeal of the laws.