Security stepped up ahead of farmers’ visit to wrestlers protest site
The Delhi Police has tightened the security at Jantar Mantar and at borders after it was announced that thousands of farmers will visit the protesting wrestlers in a show of solidarity on Sunday.
Additional deployments will be made and areas near Jantar Mantar will be barricaded, officials said. Security checks and patrolling will also be enhanced, especially in the bordering areas.
Orders have been given to detain those who violate the law, officials told India Today. If any tent or other such items are found in any vehicle during a border check, it will be seized, and the vehicle will not be allowed to enter Delhi. A large number of female police officers will also be deployed.
On Sunday, several senior Samyukta Kisan Morcha leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh, with hundreds of farmers, will visit the protest site at Jantar Mantar and extend their fullest support to the wrestlers. The outfit has demanded the immediate arrest of Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Singh, accused of sexual harassment by female wrestlers.
The farmers union has also planned nationwide protests in support of wrestlers.
Several wrestlers have been protesting at the Jantar Mantar since April 23, demanding that the government make public the findings of an oversight panel that investigated the sexual harassment charges against Singh. On April 28, the Delhi Police registered two FIRs in connection with the allegations.
