Republic Day parade: Delhi under tight security cover, emphasis on neutralising air-borne threats

Thousands of Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel will be keeping a tight vigil on Republic Day in the national capital on Thursday with special emphasis on neutralising air-borne threats in view of intelligence inputs.

Special arrangements have been made at the historic Rajpath where President Pranab Mukherjee, who is the supreme commander of armed forces, will be witnessing nation's military might that will be on display.

The entire Central and New Delhi region will have nearly 50,000 security personnel drawn from Delhi Police and Central security forces guarding every nook and corner.

In view of recent intelligence inputs that terror groups like LeT might be planning to use helicopter charter services and charter flights to launch attack through air, Delhi Police along with other security agencies are keeping a tight vigil.

Police are using anti-drone technology to thwart any attack or identify any suspicious flying object, a senior police officer said.

Apart from this, security personnel will be stationed atop tall buildings with anti-aircraft guns.

CCTV cameras have been installed and control rooms have been set up to monitor the feed from the cameras, the officer said.

The advisory that has been issued to security agencies states that "it is imperative for the security forces to be familiar with the range of threats for devising appropriate counter means" since the use of conventional weapons by the terrorist and criminal groups is a part of an ongoing process to develop new techniques and tactics.

Security forces have also been asked to ensure that proper frisking and checking of police personnel and other personnel is carried out since there is a possibility that terrorists may disguise themselves as security personnel.

According to the advisory, "terrorists may use uniform of security forces for fidayeen attack" and there should be adequate arrangements made for identification and frisking of personnel who are part of the celebrations.

Security agencies have also been warned that some Muslim extremist organisations are planning 9/11 type of attacks using airplanes carrying personnel and weapons on board.

No landing or take-off of any commercial flight will be allowed from IGIA in New Delhi between 10:35 to 12:15pm  on January 26.