Punjab polls: Security ramped up in Ludhiana amid Amit Shah’s visit

Around 1,000 police personnel were deputed in and around the Daresi Ground in Ludhiana , along with additional Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) forces, effectively turning the area into an unpenetrable fortress in the wake of Amit Shah’s visit ahead of the Punjab polls

Having received widespread flak over the security breach fiasco during the Prime Minister’s January-5 visit to the state, the Punjab Police left no stone unturned to safeguard Union home minister Amit Shah who held a rally in Daresi on Sunday, ahead of the Punjab assembly polls.

Around 30 minutes before the Union home minister Amit Shah’s arrival ahead of the Punjab polls, cops blocked traffic on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur Road, Jagraon Bridge, the stretch from Jagraon Bridge to Chand Cinema. (HT Photo)

Around 1,000 police personnel were deputed in and around the Daresi Ground, along with additional Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) forces, effectively turning the area into an unpenetrable fortress. A four-tier security system was put into place, and nobody was allowed to pass without thorough checking.

Around 30 minutes before the Union minister’s arrival, cops blocked traffic on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur Road, Jagraon Bridge, the stretch from Jagraon Bridge to Chand Cinema. Vehicular traffic was also stopped outside the Ludhiana railway station, before the home minister’s helicopter landed on the Government College For Girls playground.

With their movement restricted commuters and locals were a harried lot. People living around the Daresi Ground, where the rally took place, were forced to stay inside their houses till the Union home minister left the city. With police personnel standing guard on rooftops, residents could not dry their laundry, or bask in the sun.

Ajay Gupta, a resident of Giaspura, said he was on the way to the railway station with his family to board a train to Uttar Pradesh, when the cops stopped his three-wheeler at the Jagraon Bridge. “My wife and I, and our two children, had to walk at least a kilometre to reach the railway station,” he said.

Suresh Kumar, who lives in the area, said he was unable to report to work due to the security arrangements. “ I left home to go to work, but the police sent me back,” he said. Heavy traffic jam was seen in the area once the rally started .