Delhi on high alert: SWAT teams, snipers deployed for Russian President Putin visit
New Delhi (PTI): The national capital is on high alert on Thursday, as a multi-layered security grid has been enforced for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is landing in Delhi in the evening for his two-day visit to India.
The exact location of his stay remains undisclosed due to strict security norms, police said.
Senior police officers said that from Putin's arrival to his departure, every movement will be tracked by multiple security units operating jointly.
"Minute-to-minute coordination is underway, and all concerned agencies have been instructed to maintain maximum vigilance throughout. Over 5,000 police personnel will be deployed to maintain strict vigil," the officer said.
Top-ranking Delhi Police officers are supervising route security, traffic arrangements and area sanitisation around locations likely to feature in the Russian president's schedule.
"All routes mapped for VVIP movement have been secured in advance. Traffic advisories will be issued from time to time to minimise inconvenience to commuters. Anti-drone systems will be in place," another official said.
Delhi Police, central agencies and Putin's personal security detail have formed a multi-layered security grid with SWAT teams, anti-terror units, snipers and quick-reaction teams stationed at sensitive points.
Additionally, high-definition CCTV networks and technical monitoring systems have been activated across zones associated with the visit.
Traffic restrictions and controlled pedestrian movement are expected around key areas, though officials said alerts will be issued in advance to avoid major disruptions.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
