6,000 personnel, 2,000 protesters: How Delhi Police kept CJP's ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ stir in check

Central Park was closed for two days, while RAF and CAPF personnel formed security cordons around the venue ahead of the demonstration.

A massive deployment of security personnel which meant that forces outnumbered protesters by nearly three to one, preventive action against key organisers and tight control over access to Connaught Place helped Delhi Police prevent a large gathering and avoid major clashes during the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) “Lehra Do Tiranga” protest on Friday, police officials aware of the arrangements said.

A protester being detained detained in central Delhi during CJP’s ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march on Friday. (Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times)

By maintaining around 6,000 security personnel in and around Connaught Place from early afternoon until late evening, the police and central forces managed to significantly outnumber the roughly 2,000 protesters – according to police estimates – that gathered in central Delhi, two officials familiar with the crackdown told HT, requesting anonymity.

Police cite three factors behind crowd control

The officials identified three factors behind the police’s ability to maintain control: the heavy deployment of personnel, the quick detention of key organisers, including CJP convener Abhijeet Dipke and student leader Neha Bora, and the prevention of any single large crowd from assembling at the protest site.

HT had reported that Delhi Police had deployed 6,000 staff in central Delhi, which was in addition to around 26,000 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel in the area over the past week. Security arrangements in and around the commercial hub had begun on Thursday evening and were intensified by Friday afternoon, when Central Park and the inner and outer circles of CP were heavily fortified.

Friday protest sees fewer clashes than earlier demonstrations

The outcome was markedly different from previous protests, when large crowds gathered and television footage showed security personnel chasing protesters and journalists and detaining hundreds of people. On Friday, protesters could only gather in smaller groups, carrying placards and the national flag and raising slogans against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Around 150 people were detained during the day, but no major allegations of excessive lathicharge or tear-gas shelling were reported.

At Central Park, the proposed focal point of the march, hundreds of security personnel, including members of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), stood guard inside the premises to prevent protesters from entering. Outside, nearly 200 personnel, particularly from the CAPFs, basically formed a human chain encircling the park. Senior police officers also conducted flag marches along the pavements and restricted movement near the site, including that of journalists.

Heavy security deployment kept protesters outnumbered in Connaught Place

Central Park closed as traders keep establishments open

On Thursday, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had announced that Central Park would remain closed on Friday and Saturday. CP traders’ associations, meanwhile, said their establishments would remain open on both days and sought police intervention to maintain law and order.

The scale of the deployment was also visible in the surrounding roads, where dozens of buses and other vehicles used by security personnel were parked. The vehicles, some stationed around CP’s middle circle, narrowed the available road space and contributed to traffic congestion in the evening.

“The way 60-70 buses are parked around the Central Park in the middle circle of Connaught Place shows that the police have used these vehicles to form a blockade and stop people from going close to the park,” said Manan Tandon, 26, a protester from Vikaspuri. He alleged that traffic congestion was later used as a reason to disperse protesters.

The police also sought to prevent key organisers from reaching the protest site. Plainclothes personnel were stationed outside places where Dipke and other organisers were staying from Thursday evening, a senior police officer said, requesting anonymity. According to the officer, the aim was to track their movements and take preventive action before they could join the march.

Dipke served notice under BNSS prohibitory orders

Dipke was staying at a house in central Delhi’s Jhandewalan. Around 1.30pm, a six-member team reached the premises and served him a notice informing him that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were in force in the New Delhi area. The notice asked him not to join the march, the officer said.

“The police team also took an acknowledgement of the notice from Dipke, binding him legally to follow the police instructions,” the officer said. Dipke was detained later in the afternoon when he left the house and attempted to reach the protest site, the officer added.

Neha Bora reaches Mandi House before detention

All India Students’ Association (AISA) leader Neha Bora was among the few prominent organisers who managed to reach the area. She reached Mandi House and led a march before police detained and removed her, the officer said. No other key CJP leaders were seen at the main protest site in CP, according to the official.

Despite the extensive arrangements, protesters managed to hold marches in smaller groups at multiple locations. Around 6pm, nearly an hour after the march began, police personnel started asking protesters who had taken four to five rounds of the inner circle to move aside and avoid obstructing traffic. Dispersal began around half an hour later, and the inner circle was cleared of protesters within the next 30 minutes, even as security personnel and parked buses remained in place.

By 9pm, around 150 people had been detained and removed from Connaught Place, Mandi House and roads around Jantar Mantar, officials said. The operation concluded without the large-scale confrontations that had marked some earlier protests around Jantar Mantar since October 2.