Frisking, facial scans, no bags: Inside Delhi CM Rekha Gupta’s first public hearing after attack

Beyond the gate, a large plastic tent marks the venue for the CM’s jan sunwai — the public hearing she holds from 8 am to 10 am every Wednesday.

The heightened security measures come after the CM was attacked at this very spot during a public meeting two weeks ago. The attacker had walked in, posing as a petitioner. The Delhi Police then assured sweeping changes: more personnel, plainclothes officers, senior officials on the ground, and for the first time, facial recognition systems (FRS).

Outside the venue, two police vans equipped with cameras are stationed. Monitors flash the ages and criminal records of individuals entering the premises.

“No history-sheeters were detected today,” says DCP (North) Raja Banthia, who is patrolling the area. He adds that this marks the first deployment of FRS in Delhi.

Inside, there is more security. Metal barricades are arranged in a zig-zag fashion, not just to maintain order but to ensure that the flow of complainants can be watched and managed.

At one end, officials from different government departments — Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Jal Board, Revenue department — sit at desks to collect the spillover of complaints.

At the other end is Gupta. She is seated on a towel-draped chair, two tables forming a buffer in front of her, and microphones mediating every exchange. Even papers that complainants attempt to hand over are intercepted by aides before they reach her.

The chairs are occupied by a cross-section of the city: men with thick files clutched to their chests, young job seekers, women in veils and burqas, each of them rehearsing their pleas under their breath. They have travelled from afar, hoping that things will become easier if their grievances reach Gupta’s ear.

Fauzia from Pitampura speaks hesitantly into the microphone. Their Hajj application for 2026 has been stuck. “She (the CM) said she will look into the matter. But I wasn’t given any receipt… I don’t know if my request has been recorded,” says Fauzia on her way out.

A puppeteer from Rajasthan, Vikki Bhat, asks for space at Dilli Haat to perform his kathputli shows. “She said kaam ho jayega (it will be done). Let’s see,” he shrugs.

A man, who was afflicted with polio, says he is a BJP worker and asks for employment. Gupta quizzes him gently: “What work did you do earlier?”

Hobb Lal has returned to the jan sunwai for the sixth time — his daughter has been missing since 2019, he said.

Gupta said, “She is highly educated, must have married someone, what is the issue?”

Lal claims: “She married a man from another community in Chandigarh, but neither the Delhi Police nor the Chandigarh Police has acted on my complaints.”

Gupta asks officers to look into it.

Between such encounters, party workers, appointment-holders, and those who had shown up to invite the CM to events move through a special VVIP queue.

By 9 am, the gates shut, cutting off fresh entries. By 9.15 am, chairs are stacked and barricades pulled aside.

Those who managed to speak left wondering if their words — sifted through microphones and registers — would lead to action. Outside, others still waited, uncertain if their turn would come.

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