Ahead of the Republic Day celebrations at Rajpath, Delhi Police said they have put in place multi-layered security arrangements, installed facial recognition software and deployed 27,000 police personnel to prevent any terrorism-related incidents in the city.
Police said they have received threats online and from other sources about the possibility of terrorist attacks. Senior police officials said they had received information that Islamic State (IS) operatives may be planning to target roads or railway networks in the capital. According to IntelThe attack would be similar to a “France-type attack”, where 86 people were killed when a truck rammed into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France in 2016.
Delhi Police had also put up posters of suspected al-Qaeda-linked terrorists this week near Janpath and Connaught Place. Facial recognition software and more than 500 CCTV cameras have been installed at 30 places in Delhi. Sources said the software has a database of 50,000 suspected terrorists and criminals.
Officials said they made important arrests this year to prevent terrorist attacks in the city. However, the police are on high alert after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was found at Ghazipur flower market on January 14. Police said the IED, hidden in a bag, was given time to ‘set off’ at 11:40 am. The police and National Security Guard (NSG) teams searched the IED before that and carried out a controlled explosion.
According to officials, last month security agencies received information that IS was planning to detonate an IED near the Red Fort around Republic Day. “We have been told that the said attacker already has a car full of explosives. IS has asked terrorists to use locally available materials or IEDs to make bombs. We had received information that plastic lunchbox-sized IEDs were being made to carry out suicide bombings or single-handed attacks,” said an official.
Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana said that 27,723 police personnel, including 71 DCPs, will be stationed at Rajpath throughout the day to prevent any incident. 65 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) will assist the force. “We have been working on this for two months. We have intensified our counter-terrorism measures. It is also because Delhi has been a target of terrorists or anti-social elements.”
Counter-drone technology will be used by the police to keep an eye on security from the airspace. Special teams are being deployed to check CCTV for threats and posts and to monitor social media every day, officials said. Amid rising COVID cases, a Delhi Police spokesperson said that all guests at the Republic Day parade will have to present their vaccination certificates at the entry points. “We have received guidelines saying that people who have not been vaccinated and children below 15 years of age will not be allowed in the parade,” the official said.
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