Delhi under multi-layered security cover ahead of Republic Day

With the upcoming 68th Republic Day Celebrations, Delhi has been covered with a multi-layer security blanket by the Delhi Police in coordination with other security agencies. The police are bracing for terror threats as a month ago, two vehicles belonging to senior central government officials, bearing parking labels of Parliament and ministry of home affairs were stolen from Shahstri Bhavan, are yet to be traced.

Highly-placed sources in Delhi Police have told Millennium Post that they are yet to ascertain the whereabouts of the vehicle and the stickers which were attached to the cars may be used to infiltrate Delhi in a Pathankot-style attack.

"Those vehicles are yet to be traced. Our teams were already working on the case, but we are yet to trace the location of the vehicles," said a police source.

The police, like always, were banking on the CCTV cameras to keep an eye on any suspicious activity at sensitive areas. However, Delhi Police had received a lot of flak in the recent meetings with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) as an IB report had claimed that at least 700 CCTVs, out of the 5,000 installed in different parts of Delhi, are non-functional. Furthermore, it was found that all 136 CCTV cameras at the Old Delhi railway station were non-functional, and shockingly the metal detectors at New Delhi railway station were not found at the entry points.

To counter the problem, the Delhi Police had conducted a series of meetings with top officials and had decided to augment the security infrastructure. Delhi Police had also decided to introduce the elite K-9 unit of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police to secure the important premises in the Capital.

The Special Cell in the meantime is tasked with the responsibility of keeping an eye on any terror cell which may activate itself during the Republic Day. Sensing that some terrorists may carry out lone wolf attacks, Delhi Police have started to monitor sensitive communities. A few weeks ago, Intelligence agencies had warned that AQIS recruiters were looking for fresh recruits among the Rohingyas, a community which fled the Buddhist Rakhine community ethnic attacks in Myanmar.

A highly-placed police source said, "Yes, we are monitoring all sensitive areas. We had received inputs about several terror outfits approaching certain communities, but we have not yet come across any substantial leads in that matter, though we are monitoring them and will take preventive action if required".

But the police have already started visiting Jama Masjid, Chandni Mahal and Dariyaganj areas as they had initiated the police verification drive a month back in these areas. Several FIRs had already been registered against some house owners. This development came after an espionage ring was busted by the Crime Branch a few months ago and it was found that the Pakistani High Commission staffer, Mahmood Akhtar, had used a forged Aadhar card and showed that he was a resident of Chandi Chowk. Several scrap markets and cycle markets in and around Old Delhi have been approached by the Delhi Police, and all the employees have been asked to furnish their Aadhar cards.