Prepare for storm: Top cop urges restraint over CJP stir

New Delhi: With the national capital bracing for a massive protest on October 10, Delhi Police’s Joint Commissioner Madhur Verma on Friday urged personnel to exercise restraint, stressing that the force’s strength lies in handling crowds with “discipline, dignity and minimum force”.

“Prepare for the storm. Practise restraint. Protect the peace. Because the true strength of the police is not merely in controlling a crowd, but in doing so with discipline, dignity and minimum force,” Verma, Joint Commissioner of Police (Central Range), said in a post on X.

The police have also proposed closing entry and exit gates at 57 metro stations and reducing train frequency, citing the likelihood of “unruly crowd movement towards sensitive locations”.

The appeal comes amid heightened security arrangements ahead of a protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), with the ministry of home affairs making available around 23,000 personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to the Delhi Police for deployment between October 8 and 12, officials said.

The protest comes amid escalating demonstrations demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The Delhi Police denied permission for the CJP’s proposed protest at Jantar Mantar, citing rule violations during an earlier demonstration, a senior officer said on Friday. The police received the application seeking permission on October 7, just three days before the scheduled protest, while the rules require applications to be submitted at least 10 days in advance, the officer said.

The Centre’s additional deployment will take the number of central force personnel in Delhi to over 25,000, officials said. As another precautionary measure, the Delhi government has ordered liquor shops to remain closed on October 9 and 10, citing the prevailing situation and the need to maintain public order. The excise department’s order said the closure was based on inputs

from the Delhi Police.

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The Hans India