Delhi Police to cut back on protest deployment

A senior police officer from the Eastern range said the decision was taken after it was felt that normalcy had been restored at the borders.

farmers protest, singhu border, delhi border, delhi police, delhi police Commissioner, S N Shrivastava, indian express news

At the Tikri protest site, Monday. (Photo: Abhinav Saha)

Days after increasing security at Delhi’s three borders of Singhu, Ghazipur and Tikri where farmers are protesting, Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava has issued directions to relieve additional forces deployed at the sites and has asked police personnel to report to their respective districts/units for further duties.

Sources said that initially, around 5,000 police personnel were deployed at Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur. But after the January 26 violence, when thousands of protesters forced their way into the capital and stormed the Red Fort, police personnel deployed at Rajpath had been asked to head to the borders.

The police chief had also asked Special CP (Vigilance) Balaji Srivastava to take charge of the Red Fort.

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In a message to Special CPs, JCPs and DCPs, Special CP (operations) Dr Muktesh Chander said: “This is in continuation of… various TPMs (teleprinter messages) and orders regarding internal mobilisation from various districts/units of Delhi Police in law and order and kisan rally arrangements. As desired by the CP, Delhi, the entire staff as mentioned will go back to their respective districts/units on February 9… All districts concerned where this additional force is deployed are directed to relieve the force mobilised from Delhi Police with the direction to report to their respective districts/units for further duties.”

He further wrote, “Districts concerned may mobilise additional force from their own resources to augment police arrangements for the kisan rally in their respective districts.”

A senior police officer from the Eastern range said the decision was taken after it was felt that normalcy had been restored at the borders. “As additional paramilitary forces are on the site, it was decided that the entire police department cannot be shut down just for law and order duty there,” the officer said.

On January 26, Shrivastava also held a video conference with all officers. “Many of them joined from makeshift offices at the borders. At the beginning of the meeting, the police chief asked Special CP Balaji Srivastava to take over security at Red Fort,” said a senior police officer.

Mahender Singh Manral

Mahender Singh Manral is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. He is known for his impactful and breaking stories. He covers the Ministry of Home Affairs, Investigative Agencies, National Investigative Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Agencies, Paramilitary Forces, and internal security. Prior to this, Manral had extensively reported on city-based crime stories along with that he also covered the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government for a decade. He is known for his knack for News and a detailed understanding of stories. He also worked with Mail Today as a senior correspondent for eleven months. He has also worked with The Pioneer for two years where he was exclusively covering crime beat. During his initial days of the career he also worked with The Statesman newspaper in the national capital, where he was entrusted with beats like crime, education, and the Delhi Jal Board. A graduate in Mass Communication, Manral is always in search of stories that impact lives. ... Read More

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