Red Fort blast aftermath: Chemical traders to second-hand car dealers, Delhi Police ramps up surveillance

The Delhi Police has started sensitising wholesale chemical traders across the city. Officers have been instructed to begin a verification exercise to check if chemical traders have all documents required for the sale and purchase of these products. Traders have to be careful while selling chemicals and products, which can be used as explosives. They must maintain a register to note down details of people wanting to buy large quantities of such chemicals and must immediately alert the police if any suspicious buyer approaches them. The North District police held a meeting on Monday in which wholesale traders from Bawana, Narela, Najafgarh, and Khari Baoli — housing Delhi’s largest chemical markets — took part.

Second-hand car dealers

Dealers of second-hand cars have been asked to properly verify buyers and collect all relevant documents before selling vehicles. In the blast, the Hyundai i20 that blew up had been sold multiple times through Faridabad-based car dealers and online platforms. A police advisory outlining the verification process has been shared with officials at the Regional Transport Offices. Additionally, police have conducted drives to remove unclaimed cars and scooters from Delhi’s parking lots, sources said.

CCTV cameras

While tracking the movement of the suspects in the November 10 blast case, the police discovered that several CCTV cameras installed in the markets were non-functional. The police have thus installed around 20,000 CCTV cameras in Delhi under the ‘Safe City Project’. These were in addition to the 2.8 lakh CCTV cameras installed by the PWD. Market associations at Chandni Chowk, Lajpat Nagar and Sarojini Nagar have been asked to fix cameras on their premises. The police are also planning to increase the number of Facial Recognition System (FRS) vans operating across Delhi.

The blast site before it was opened for public. (Express photo by Amit Mehra)

Tenant verification

The police have begun a massive exercise to get verification of tenants done.

While station house officers (SHOs) have been instructed to intensify the drive, residents have been asked to report any suspicious person living in their locality. People can obtain tenant verification forms from the local police station or download them from the Delhi Police website and submit them along with the tenants’ Aadhaar details.

Neighbouring NCR districts have been asked to conduct a similar exercise, said sources.

Further, several FIRs have been registered against landowners who allowed tenants to move in without verification. Over 100 such FIRs have been filed in North Delhi in the past two days, an officer said.

Bomb and dog squads

Three important units of Delhi Police — Dog Squad, Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), and Bomb Detection Team (BDT) — will be strengthened. The force has planned the procurement of new tools and technologies worth Rs 40 crore. Officials from the Crime Branch, which oversees these units, said that the process of procuring equipment and provision of high-tech training to the staff are in the pipeline.

Around 20 BDT and 10 BDS teams are stationed at strategic locations across the city.

Special Commissioner of Police (Crime, Perception Management, and Media Cell) Devesh Chandra Srivastava told The Indian Express that six BDS personnel recently underwent training as part of ‘Visfot Kawach’ exercise organised by the NSG in Haryana’s Manesar.

Srivastava said, “We are also carrying out checks at hotels and guest houses. The community policing scheme ‘Prahari’ has also been revamped.”

“We also appeal to the citizens of Delhi to cooperate and act as the eyes and ears of the force…,” he said.

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