The national capital will be on high alert during the entirety of the G20 summit, the Delhi Police said on Wednesday.
New Delhi: The Delhi Police will deploy over 50,000 personnel, including sleuths from the National Security Guard (NSG) and some of the central armed police forces (CAPF) in its ‘foolproof’ security plan for the G20 Summit in the national capital on September 9th-1oth.
Officials have revealed that 19 markswomen, who have completed a four-week specialised training session conducted by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) at its training centre in Karera, Madhya Pradesh, will be deployed during the summit. The markswomen, armed with a rifle telescope, will be deployed at strategic locations in the city, including at the G20 summit venue and hotels.
Additionally, officers of the rank of special commissioner of police, will serve as venue commanders while over 50,000 personnel, K9 dog squads and mounted police will be deployed across the city to keep a hawk-eye vigil during the summit, they said.
Foolproof security for delegates
A senior official said that the delegates will be provided foolproof security by the Delhi Police during the summit “From the airport to hotels and from hotels to the venues for the G20 Summit, foreign delegates will be provided foolproof security by the Delhi Police during the prestigious summit,” the official said, according to news agency PTI.
He added that in order to strengthen the arrangements, the Delhi Police is also being assisted by the Indian Air Force and specialised central agencies like the National Security Guard (NSG) and some of the central armed police forces (CAPF).
Bolt-cutters and chains
In a bid to tackle unforeseen security concerns that may crop up due to protests, the Delhi Police has found a unique solution as they will be using bolt cutters and chains in a bid to tackle unwanted and unscheduled agitations during the summit. These will come into the picture if protesters tie themselves with chains so that they cannot be removed, officials said.
They said that the Delhi Police, as part of its preparations for mega summit, have done comprehensive assessment of protests held by various international and local groups in other nations during previous G20 Summits.
Underlining that there are national and international aspects related to the security for the G20 summit, police said a law and order situation arose in several other countries where previous summits were held due to protests by international pressure groups and local organisations.
“Whenever we get any kind of information or assessment, we arrange things accordingly. A comprehensive assessment has been done of that. The Delhi Police has the responsibility of safety, security and law and order, and we are taking it as a challenge,” an official said.
“We have different segments of the Delhi Police that have focused roles for the summit area. Apart from this, we have the responsibility of maintaining the law and order situation in other parts of the city,” the official said.
‘High Alert’ in Delhi
Officials revealed that the entire national capital will be on “high alert” during the duration of the summit and personnel for districts and other units have also been pulled into action for the event.
There are various dimensions to security — airport security, carcade management, event venues, anti-terror measures, and maintenance of general alerts, explained an official.
Commissioner Of Police rank officers as venue commanders
The Delhi Police said that the special commissioner of police-rank officers will serve as the commander of the venue with deputy commissioner of police-rank officials serving as zonal commanders.
They will be assisted by joint commissioner-rank officers and additional DCPs. DCP-rank officers will serve as camp commanders of hotels where the delegates will be staying. Special commissioner of police ranked officers will be having groups of hotels under their command, they said.
Officials said arrangements have been made so that no infiltration, terrorist act or sabotage takes place during the summit.
“For specialised measures, we also have the Indian armed forces assisting us. The staff has been provided role-based micro-functional training and made aware of their duties. This has been done through carcade rehearsals and point-wise briefing. The rest of Delhi will be on high alert,” another officer said, adding that there is real-time coordination between police and central agencies.
Police said they are also coordinating with the security agencies and also assessing the threats from outside the nation.
The G20 Leaders Summit will be held from September 9-10 at the newly built international convention and exhibition centre — Bharat Mandapam — at Pragati Maidan in Delhi.
(With PTI inputs)