Delhi on high alert after Paris attacks

The Hindu

People participate in a silent vigil at India Gate in New Delhi on Saturday in remembrance of the victims of Fridays terror attack in Paris.— Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Additional deployment has been put in place at other sensitive areas such as India Gate circle and areas where French expats in the city live.

Security at the French Embassy as well as several other French installations and tourist spots on Saturday following Islamic State’s attack in Paris which left 128 people dead.

“We are fully equipped to deal with any terror threat and have stepped up the vigil. As a measure we have increased security personnel deployed in and around French embassy. We are keeping an eye on the whole situation,” Senior Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Deepak Mishra told The Hindu .

The measures being taken following the incident where assailants rocked the French Capital with both suicide bombs and assault rifles include a sealing of all the borders in the city and placing pickets at various vulnerable points. Additional deployment has been put in place at other sensitive areas such as India Gate circle and areas where French expats in the city live.

However, the Delhi Police chose to treat deployment intended to have a special focus on the security of French expats as a routine anti-terror exercise.

For instance, according to a senior police officer the list of installations was not readily available and they had sought inputs from the intelligence establishment – such as areas where they stay and where there is more footfall of all specially French tourists. Lack of a focussed deployment plan saw many barricades unmanned.

In addition on the airport, strict vigil has been kept in the immigration area and thorough identity check of the incoming passengers is being carried out by CISF and customs so that any suspicious article being carried by any passenger is not allowed to make an entry into the city. Further, bomb disposal squad have been put on standby and additional quick reaction teams have been deployed at Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Railway Protection Force, too, has stepped up the vigil by deploying nearly 1,300 to 1,400 more personnel, the number being several times the usual at at major Delhi stations.

Meanwhile, the reserve force kept for one of the biggest annual events hosted here – the India International Trade Fair, which kicked off on Saturday and has both visitors and participants from abroad – has been asked to do round the clock foot patrolling inside and outside the periphery of the venue.