NEW DELHI: Delhi Police has intensified efforts to maintain stringent security during the Independence Day celebrations in the capital, with focus on monitoring criminals from radicalised backgrounds who have been recently released from prisons.
“We have already strengthened security arrangements and are constantly monitoring known criminals. The focus is on those who have links to terror organisations or are radicalised in some way,” a senior Delhi Police official informed this newspaper.
The police in every district are making a list of known offenders who may cause an impediment to law and order during the Independence Day celebrations. Moreover, intelligence agencies have also raised an alert over the Prime Minister’s security during the Independence Day events to the maximum level in the wake of an assassination bid against former US president Donald Trump recently.
The police in the capital have intensified patrolling at sensitive areas. “All necessary measures are in place. We have tightened security arrangements at various places and are keeping constant vigil as a preventive measure,” the officer said.
Notably, this time, criminals with Bangladesh origin are also on police radar. Earlier this year, the city saw a rise in criminal activities perpetrated by those with roots in Bangladesh. The officer said cops are keeping a tab on every criminal of Bangladesh origin who has been recently released from jail.
In a recent interstate police meet held at the Delhi Police HQ, Commissioner Sanjay Arora raised the issue of the growing menace of interstate gangs operating in NCR. Cops have identified 11 gangs involved in a spree of extortion calls, threats to businessmen, and shootings in the city in the past few months. The top cop directed officers to control gang actrivity by invoking stringent laws such as the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.