A never-before security for Vaiko cavalcade
Anxiety is writ large on the faces of police officials, particularly, top intelligence officers as MDMK leader Vaiko who has left Tamil Nadu with over 1,000 supporters to reach Sanchi to protest Sri Lanka president Mahindra Rajapaksa's visit, is inching closer to MP.
Anxiety is writ large on the faces of police officials, particularly, top intelligence officers as MDMK leader Vaiko who has left Tamil Nadu with over 1,000 supporters to reach Sanchi to protest Sri Lanka president Mahindra Rajapaksa's visit, is inching closer to MP.
While strategies are being prepared at the top level to stop Vaiko, the police are not as worried about the protesters in buses as they are about individual MDMK workers who might have already reached Bhopal by train (or would reach) and try to hoodwink security personnel to reach the venue.
There is no decision as yet whether the bus carrying MDMK activists who are arriving here for 'peaceful protest' would be stopped on the border of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra or they would be allowed to enter MP and stopped somewhere near Bhopal.
"We are keeping tab on the situation. The arrival of buses from Tamil Nadu is being monitored but we feel it is more of a political protest. In fact, we are more concerned that individual persons from outside state or those from local groups shouldn't reach here, as identifying them will be tough", said a police official on conditions of anonymity.
Police officials said that they were worried about such protesters reaching the programme to show black flags or some other form of protest. As a person has already tried self-immolation when the cavalcade began from Tamil Nadu, any such incident in coming days, during the inauguration of the International Buddhist University can create complications.
5,000 cops will be deployed
Extraordinary measures are being taken with around 5,000 policemen going to be deployed in security in Bhopal and on route to Sanchi, particularly, so as to avoid any protest that might cause embarrassment to the state government during such a high-profile event on September 21.
This is the highest figure of police personnel deployed for any event in Bhopal so far. A high-level meeting was held at Police Control Room on Tuesday for reviewing security arrangements for the event.
Among police officials and bureaucrats there were murmurs that why the possibility of protests was not thought about when the event was planned. Security drills have begun and intelligence officials are making rounds to Sanchi, apart from keeping an eye on people here who might also hold demonstration during the event. Many Tamil groups blames Rajapaksa regime for atrocities on Tamils in Sri Lanka after the offensive against LTTE.
We can't disclose much: DGP
Senior police officials are tight-lipped as to how they would deal with MDMK's protest. DGP Nandan Dubey said that there would be tight security during the visit of dignitaries to Sanchi. On whether buses would be allowed to enter MP, Dubey refused to divulge the plans of police. "It is a matter of topmost security and we can't disclose much", he said.