Delhi Police Deploys Up to 20,000 Personnel at Red Fort Ahead of Independence Day
With less than a week remaining until Independence Day, the Delhi Police has deployed between 15,000 and 20,000 personnel around the Red Fort and along designated VIP routes in North and Central Delhi to secure the area for the upcoming celebrations.
Along with local police personnel, thousands of officers from the Rapid Action Force and the Border Security Force have been stationed near the historic monument and surrounding areas. Security preparations for the event began two months ago, when personnel identified and mapped households and businesses operating in North and Central Delhi in the vicinity of the Red Fort and along VIP routes.
Security measures were further strengthened following a fake bomb threat email received by the police last week. While officials have not yet traced the source of the threat email, authorities said they are actively monitoring social media and remain prepared for any untoward incident.
To monitor visitors and the areas surrounding the Red Fort, more than 1,000 cameras—including stationary, CCTV, number-plate recognition, and AI-enabled units—have been installed. Some deployed police personnel will also be equipped with body-worn cameras.
"Besides keeping an eye on the movement of the people during the ceremony, it will also flag out any suspicious elements in the crowd, suspicious objects, vehicles or people," said Niharika Bhatt, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police-I (North).
Police are also utilizing high-tech tools to identify potential suspects. Three Facial Recognition System vans equipped with 360-degree cameras are capturing live feeds to match against existing criminal databases. In addition, officers have started using the Abhigyan application, which connects to the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System, to check individuals for criminal antecedents.
Air security around the venue has been fortified as well. The area around the Red Fort has been declared a no-drone zone, with anti-drone systems deployed to detect aerial activity.
The heightened security deployment extends to the Delhi University campus, where hundreds of police personnel and a large number of police vehicles have been stationed. This deployment comes ahead of the student union elections, when the university is expected to see an increase in student movement and election-related activity.
