NEW DELHI: Delhi Police have gone on
alert
after receiving intelligence that gangster-turned-radical
Lakha Sidhana
was spotted around the
protest site
in Haryana, allegedly inciting the farmer groups to break the barricades. Officers said on Wednesday that they had received videos on Facebook featuring him trying to mobilise the farmers and instigating them to commit violence and use JCBs to break through the barriers. The cops have shared the videos with their counterparts in Haryana.
Police will not risk Sidhana being on the loose, given their experience with him in the 2020-21 protests. Sidhana, the cops said, was accused of getting anti-social elements to mix with the protesters, which had then led to violence. Police suspect Sidhana is planning to take the place of the deceased Deep Sidhu.
Sidhana's name had cropped up in the case of violence at Red Fort on Jan 26, 2021. A resident of Bathinda in Punjab, Sidhana was once a big name in the crime world. Later, he plunged into politics. He was also a kabaddi player. Last week, Sidhana was booked by Punjab Police for damaging police vehicles and attacking a policeman in a separate case.
Following inputs about possible violence, the cops have substantially stepped up security at the borders of Delhi. Around 5am on Wednesday, more concrete was poured between the barriers erected at Tikri border. "We have also installed 360-degree PTZ cameras there. It offers pan, tilt, and zoom capabilities. To enhance nighttime monitoring, night vision cameras have also been installed," the officer said. Dedicated teams have been formed to monitor CCTV cameras from control rooms. They will alert senior officers to any suspicious activity.
Police are also using long range acoustic devices or sound cannons that produce a high-pitch sound causing excruciating pain in the ears, tasers that paralyse people with electricity for a few seconds and flash bangs that blind protesters for some time.
Regarding temporary detention centres, police said that it was usual for all police forces to prepare for temporary holding centres in cases of the need to detain protesters at large gatherings.
PA systems have been installed and the officer said that this would be used to warn the protesters of legal action if they breached the barricades. More personnel have been posted at the smaller borders, including Sabhapur checkpoint, Bhopura, Mandoli Sewa Dham and Chauhan Patti. "We don't want to leave any stone unturned. Should the protestors try to enter the city, we have enough arrangements to stop them at the small borders too," the officer claimed.
Cemented barricades have been fortified with barbed wires. "We have reinforced the jersey barricades with multiple layers of barbed wire. Attempting to forcefully remove these barricades will be impossible and would result in physical injury," the officer said. Within the city, the cops have placed shipping containers, sandbags, buses and JCB machines in central Delhi, New Delhi and south Delhi.
English (US) ·