BHUBANESWAR: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister Amit Shah all set to arrive for the high-profile DGP conference, Bhubaneswar was placed under a thick blanket of security on Thursday even as Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun threatened to disrupt the meet.
The 59th DG and IG conference is being organised for the first time in Odisha. Besides, the PM and the HM, national security advisor Ajit Doval and a host of top officials of security agencies will attend the three-day conference starting on Friday. Many of the senior officers arrived in Bhubaneswar on the day.
To keep an eye on the city, more than 70 platoons of police force and anti-terror agencies have been deployed across Bhubaneswar to ensure the pan-India event passed off smoothly.
Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said anti-terror agencies and intelligence wing officials have been mobilised to handle threats posed by anti-national elements, if any.
Singh’s statement came hours after Pannun issued a video message. Without commenting on the video issued by the Khalistani extremist, the Police Commissioner said they are keeping a close vigil on every aspect and adequate security arrangements have been made to meet any challenge and ensure there is no law and order situation.
Pannun who heads the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) outfit, in a video message, urged his supporters to “disguise and take cover in temples-hotels in Bhubaneswar to disrupt the DG-IG conference.”
Sources said security has been heightened across the city including Raj Bhavan, Secretariat, state guest house, IPS mess and travel routes designated for VVIPs and other senior officials. As part of the security net, Central Reserve Police Force and Odisha Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel have been pressed into service in the capital city.
Multiple areas of Bhubaneswar have already been declared as no-flying and no-drone zones. All vantage points on high-rise buildings along the routes to be taken by the PM as well as the HM have also been secured. While security drills were conducted at the Bhubaneswar airport and its adjoining areas where the PM is expected to receive felicitations from party workers and people, police also carried out carcade rehearsal on the day.
A designated terrorist under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Pannun dared the PM to visit Ram Mandir in Bhubaneswar to meet devotees and urged “Naxals, Maoists, Kashmiri fighters to disrupt the DG-IG conference.”