Heavy security cover envelopes New Delhi

Chinese premier Li Keqiang met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh amid heavy security cover as scores of personnel, mainly to check Tibetan protesters from staging protests, were deployed across central Delhi today.

Chinese premier Li Keqiang met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh amid heavy security cover as scores of personnel, mainly to check Tibetan protesters from staging protests, were deployed across central Delhi on Sunday.

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Senior Delhi Police officers said around half-a-dozen companies of the police in addition to paramilitary personnel drawn from the Border Security Force, the Central Industrial Security Force and the Central Reserve Police Force were deployed across the route.

“Most deployment was near the Chinese embassy, the President’s estate and portions of India Gate. These arrangements will be in place for two more days,” said an officer, adding that the Race Course Road Metro station will remain shut.

Meanwhile, to discourage Tibetan protesters from taking to the streets of, heavy police deployment was also in place across Majnu Ka Tilla.

The local police and paramilitary deployment added to the deployment of traffic police personnel from Dhaula Kuan to AIIMS, in addition to several arterial central Delhi routes such as the Lodhi Road, the Mathura Road, the Purana Qila Road and the C-Hexagon near India Gate.

“One of these protesters, a male in his early 20s, was overpowered and detained at the Chanakyapuri police station. He was, however, allowed to leave after a few hours of detention,” said an officer.

The police said they will leave nothing to chance over the next two days and a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy will be adopted against all protesters. Specially-sanctioned female personnel constitute a sizable chunk of paramilitary deployment.