New Delhi: As India braces for a major protest in the national capital against alleged ‘vote theft’ and demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner, central authorities have stepped up security and taken precautionary measures to prevent protesters from reaching the venue.
The Delhi Police has officially declared that permission to protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10th has not been granted, meaning any attempt to hold a demonstration there will be deemed illegal. A total of 57 metro stations in Delhi will be shut down starting tonight at 9:00 PM until the early morning of October 11th.
In addition, all mail and superfast express trains scheduled to arrive at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations will be prevented from docking from 4 am tomorrow till 2 pm. Buses plying routes to Central Delhi will be taken off the roads beginning late this evening and will remain suspended until early morning on October 11th.
All border entry points into Delhi will be sealed starting late tonight, during which buses, trucks, tractors, and other mass transport vehicles will be strictly prohibited from entering until the morning of October 11th. Further, members of student unions and prominent CJP activists are either being detained, placed under house arrest outside Delhi, or intercepted and detained while en route to Delhi via rail and road.
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Notably, all government-run alcohol shops across Delhi will remain completely shut today and tomorrow. A force of 22,000 armed personnel from across the country has been brought into Delhi for deployment on October 10th, alongside over 10,000 Delhi Police personnel stationed throughout the city.
The authorities have installed new CCTV cameras with facial recognition technology and security personnel have organised a massive outreach campaign appealing to members of the general public not to participate in the protests scheduled for October 10th.
Several Kisan Unions have issued appeals urging farmers to assemble and join the protests on October 10th. Khap Panchayat representatives are issuing conflicting appeals, with some calling on citizens to join the demonstrations and others urging them to stay away.
