New Delhi: Security arrangements have been intensified further across the national capital ahead of the weekend, with Delhi Police installing additional layers of barricades at key locations and reinforcing them with heavy-duty chains to prevent attempts to breach security cordons, officials said on Saturday, July 25.
The move follows the raging protest in Delhi by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), demanding reforms in the examination system and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak, with police expecting a larger turnout of protesters through the weekend.
According to police sources, multiple rows of iron barricades have been placed on the sensitive stretches in the New Delhi district, particularly in and around the Jantar Mantar protest site and other strategic locations.
Apart from physical barricading, surveillance and security measures have also been enhanced across the city.
Facial recognition systems installed around the protest venue have already identified more than 2,500 people with criminal backgrounds entering the area over the past few days, a police source claimed.
01:48 pm: The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) has announced that it will join the ongoing students’ protest in Delhi in solidarity. The union will march to the national capital on Monday, July 27, and said its members will remain in Delhi until the demands of the students are met.
01:43 pm: Members of left-wing student organisations held demonstrations, with police lathicharging protesters in several districts of Bihar on Saturday. The demonstrations were held in support of the statewide bandh against the NEET paper leak and police action on protesting students, officials said.
The bandh elicited a mixed response across the state, with districts like Patna witnessing stone pelting, while Nalanda, Nawada, Jehanabad, and Rohtas had little impact
01:41 pm: Several X posts on Saturday claimed that some students of Jamia Millia Islamia were detained by Delhi Police as they were returning from the Jantar Mantar protest site, even as police sources said that verification of around 150 persons detained on Friday night was underway.
A police source said around 150 people were detained from different locations during security checks on Friday night, and their identities and backgrounds were being verified.
01:38 pm: Liquor shops across Delhi will shut two hours earlier than usual, at 8 pm instead of 10 pm, until the weekend ends in view of the ongoing student protests at Jantar Mantar.
01:33 pm: The Abhijeet Dipke-led Cockroach Janta Party has issued a nationwide call for a candle march on Sunday, July 26 at 6 pm.
01:16 pm: With water supply at the protest site cut and access to nearby toilets becoming increasingly difficult, women protesters and volunteer doctors say even meeting basic hygiene needs has become a daily struggle, forcing some to leave the site and disrupting medical services.
01:08 pm: Cockraoch Janta Party said their protests will intensify further if Dharmendra Pradhan does not resign, adding that the outfit will have to issue another nationwide call for agitation.
12:44 pm: Rahul Gandhi on Saturday met a group of protesting students at his residence, including a young girl who had injured her leg. He said their demand for the ouster of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is non-negotiable, and nothing short of it will be acceptable.
Claiming that he had heard that a section of the Union Cabinet is suggesting moving Pradhan to another ministry, Gandhi said any such move will be of no help.
10:03 pm: Eighteen Delhi Metro stations in central Delhi remained closed for the fourth straight day on Saturday due to security concerns amid the ongoing Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest near the Jantar Mantar.
(With PTI inputs)
