Amid protests, Delhi steps up security for CEC Gyanesh Kumar
Security around Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s residence has been stepped up following fresh threat inputs amid continuing protests by Opposition parties demanding his resignation, officials said.
Kumar already has Z-plus security cover, but additional police personnel have been deployed outside his residence in view of the latest intelligence inputs and the protests in central Delhi, a senior police officer was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
“Local district police have also been asked to increase the deployment of personnel. As protests are already underway in the New Delhi district, all security agencies have been directed to coordinate closely to prevent any untoward incident,” the officer said.
The security enhancement comes as INDIA bloc parties, led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, have held consecutive protests demanding Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Election Commission has rejected the allegations and maintained that decisions on the SIR were taken unanimously.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has made 221 companies of Central Armed Police Forces, comprising around 23,000 personnel, available to the Delhi Police from October 8 to 12 for law and order duties.
The deployment is among the largest such deployments of central forces in Delhi for a protest in recent years. Of the 221 companies, 111 had already been made available in connection with earlier protests, while another 110 were sanctioned on October 6.
For the latest deployment, CRPF companies are being brought in from Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. Some of the forces in Chhattisgarh had been deployed for anti-Naxal operations, while CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir had been retained in the region following the Amarnath Yatra, according to a report by ThePrint.
The additional forces are expected to assist the Delhi Police in managing protests, securing key government buildings and maintaining law and order in central Delhi.
The enhanced security comes ahead of further Opposition protests in the capital and amid heightened security around Sansad Marg, Ashoka Road, Janpath Road and other parts of central Delhi.
Kumar’s Z-plus cover has also been strengthened at the Election Commission headquarters and for his personal security, according to officials cited by Hindustan Times.