Security concerns come in the way of political rallies

The city had been on alert since July with 12 companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) deployed at various locations. Security drills, nakabandis and random checks were routinely conducted. The fact that July was the month in earlier years when terror strikes had taken place, and with Independence Day following in August, stringent security measures were enforced in these two months. The execution of 1993 bomb blasts convict Yakub Memon on July 30 had added to the concerns of the police.

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Mumbai Police spokesperson DCP Dhananjay Kulkarni said, “Every year, we consider requests for permission for rallies on Independence Day before granting or refusing permission. This year, we decided to forbid any political rallies. Some requests for car and bike rallies by private organisations were also turned down as we felt they could lead to traffic problems.”

“The Mumbai Police Commissioner cancelled permission for our rally citing the reason that Mumbai is communally sensitive right now. The Commissioner informed us that in a bid to maintain peace and harmony he cancelled other rallies as well. In view of national interest, we co-operated and called off our rally,” said an Aam Aadmi Party leader.