Police step up watch ahead of October 10 protest

Delhi Police are going back to the details of the Cockroach Janta Party’s previous protest in the Capital, tracking people with alleged criminal antecedents as well as logistics suppliers who helped organise the earlier agitation, as part of preparations to prevent a repetition of the large mobilisation ahead of the outfit’s proposed protest.

Station house officers (SHOs) across the city have been instructed to keep watch on around 2,800 people identified through a facial recognition system (FRS) as having alleged criminal antecedents and ascertain whether any of them are moving towards New Delhi district for the proposed demonstration.

Officers have also been asked to identify and monitor those involved in arranging logistics for the CJP’s previous protest, including providers of buses and other resources, and check whether they have again been contacted for the October 10 agitation, officials aware of the security arrangements said.

Police have not granted permission for the proposed protest so far. “SHOs have been asked to identify and keep track of such people in their respective areas, particularly those who may have a history of serious offences. The idea is to know who is moving towards the protest site and from where,” an officer said.

The directions also include monitoring local bus operators and checking bookings to ascertain who is hiring buses, the number of people being transported and their destinations. Police are particularly looking for organised movement of groups towards Delhi and the New Delhi district in the run-up to the protest.

“If there is organised movement of people towards New Delhi, local police should be aware of it and take necessary action,” the officer said.

Police have also been directed to engage with heads of universities and colleges in their respective jurisdictions and request them to ensure that students do not participate in the protest.

Officers have similarly been asked to contact owners of paying guest (PG) accommodations in major student hubs and advise them to discourage students from joining the demonstration.

Possible entry routes into Delhi are under heightened surveillance, particularly the eastern and Shahdara borders with Uttar Pradesh and routes on the southwest of the city, including those from Rajasthan, officials said.

“Barricades will be installed at entry points,” an officer said. Police have further instructed personnel to ensure that protesters do not sit or stage demonstrations at locations in New Delhi district if they are stopped from reaching the proposed venue. “The leaders are putting on social media that if protesters are stopped anywhere, they should sit where they are stopped. We have to ensure that doesn’t happen,” another officer said.

The proposed October 10 protest comes months after the CJP-led agitation over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak in July, when thousands of demonstrators attempted to march towards Parliament and demanded resignation of erstwhile Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities.

Police said at least 2,873 people who attended, or were present in the vicinity of the July agitation at Jantar Mantar, were identified as having alleged criminal antecedents. Of these, nearly 989 were allegedly linked to heinous offences.

Police claimed that 101 of those identified had been booked in murder cases, including 42 who were allegedly involved in two or more murder cases, and 12 who had been booked in 10 or more murder cases.

Since October 1, Delhi Police have requisitioned at least 20 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), which have been deployed in and around Jantar Mantar. Several stretches in the area have been restricted, while nearly 4,000 security personnel have been deployed across the New Delhi area, officials said.

Police have also discussed setting up temporary detention facilities at stadiums across the city in case large numbers of protesters arrive, refuse to disperse and insist on courting arrest, officials said.

Security arrangements have been stepped up around Jantar Mantar and other parts of central Delhi ahead of the proposed demonstration.