Preparations of G20 Summit in Delhi.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Multiple security agencies, 19 markswomen, and special commissioner of police-rank officers as venue commanders are part of the 'foolproof' security arrangements put in place by the Delhi Police for the G20 Summit in the city. According to officials, police will be maintaining a hawk-eye vigil during the summit, with the assistance of over 50,000 personnel, K9 dog squads and mounted police.
"From the airport to hotels and from hotels to the venues for the G20 Summit, foreign delegates will be provided foolproof security by the Delhi Police during the prestigious summit," a senior official said.
In order to strengthen the arrangements, the Delhi Police is also being assisted by the Indian Air Force and specialised central agencies like the National Security Guard (NSG) and some of the central armed police forces (CAPF).
A total of 19 markswomen, who have completed a four-week specialised training session conducted by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) at its training centre in Karera, Madhya Pradesh, will also be deployed during the summit.
Armed with a rifle telescope, they will be deployed at strategic locations in the city, including at the G20 summit venue and hotels.
As part of its preparations for the mega-event, police have also done a comprehensive assessment of protests held by various international and local groups in other nations during previous G20 Summits.
Police will also be using chains and bolt cutters in order to tackle unwanted and unscheduled agitations during the summit. These will come into the picture if protesters tie themselves with chains so that they cannot be removed, officials said.
The G20 Leaders Summit will be held from September 9-10 at the newly built international convention and exhibition centre -- Bharat Mandapam -- at Pragati Maidan here.
According to officials, there is real-time coordination between police and central agencies.
Underlining that there are national and international aspects related to the security for the G20 summit, police said a law and order situation arose in several other countries where previous summits were held due to protests by international pressure groups and local organisations.
'Whenever we get any kind of information or assessment, we arrange things accordingly. A comprehensive assessment has been done of that. The Delhi Police has the responsibility of safety, security and law and order, and we are taking it as a challenge,' an official said.
'We have different segments of the Delhi Police that have focused roles for the summit area. Apart from this, we have the responsibility of maintaining the law and order situation in other parts of the city,' the official said.
Personnel from districts and other units have also been pulled into action for the summit, with officials saying that the rest of Delhi will be on a 'high alert'.
There are various dimensions to security -- airport security, carcade management, event venues, anti-terror measures, and maintenance of general alerts, explained an official.
As far as venue security arrangements are concerned, special commissioner of police-rank officers will serve as the commander with deputy commissioner of police-rank officials serving as zonal commanders, police said.
They will be assisted by joint commissioner-rank officers and additional DCPs. DCP-rank officers will serve as camp commanders of hotels where the delegates will be staying. Special commissioner of police ranked officers will be having groups of hotels under their command, they said.
Officials said arrangements have been made so that no infiltration, terrorist act or sabotage takes place during the summit.
'For specialised measures, we also have the Indian armed forces assisting us. The staff has been provided role-based micro-functional training and made aware of their duties. This has been done through carcade rehearsals and point-wise briefing. The rest of Delhi will be on high alert,' another officer said.
Police said they are also coordinating with the security agencies and also assessing the threats from outside the nation.
Earlier on August 27, some persons wrote pro-Khalistan messages -- 'Delhi Banega Khalistan' and 'Khalistan Zindabad' -- on the walls of five Delhi Metro stations. A wall of a government school in Nangloi was also found defaced.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the chief of the banned US-based Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) outfit, said in a video, 'G20 nations, when you will be meeting in Delhi on September 10, we will be organising a Khalistan referendum in Canada.' Later, police arrested two people from Punjab in connection with the incident.