“Prepare for the storm. Practise restraint. Protect the peace. Because the true strength of the police is not merely in controlling a crowd, but in doing so with discipline, dignity and minimum force,” Verma, Joint Commissioner of Police (Central Range), said in a post on X.
The appeal comes amid heightened security arrangements ahead of a protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), with the Ministry of Home Affairs making available around 23,000 personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to the Delhi Police for deployment between October 8 and 12, officials said.
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The protest comes amid escalating demonstrations demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Delhi Police denied permission for the CJP’s proposed protest at Jantar Mantar, citing violations of rules during an earlier demonstration, a senior officer said on Friday.
The police received the application seeking permission on October 7, just three days before the scheduled protest, while the rules require applications to be submitted at least 10 days in advance, the officer said.The Centre’s additional deployment will take the number of central force personnel in Delhi to over 25,000, officials said.
In other precautionary measures, the Delhi government has ordered liquor shops to remain closed on October 9 and 10, citing the prevailing situation and the need to maintain public order.
The Excise Department’s order said the closure was based on inputs from the Delhi Police.
The police have also proposed closing entry and exit gates at 57 metro stations and reducing train frequency, citing the likelihood of “unruly crowd movement towards sensitive locations”.
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In an October 8-dated letter, the Joint Commissioner of Police (Transport Range) asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to implement the proposed measures.
A multi-layered barricading arrangement will be put in place, while CCTV cameras will monitor the situation from control rooms. Face recognition system cameras will also be installed across the capital, officials said.
Police have stepped up vigilance at the city’s borders, including Ghazipur, Chilla, Tikri, Singhu, Gurugram, Kapashera, Loni and Badarpur, to monitor movement into the capital, they added.
