Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday visited Delhi Police headquarters and held meetings with the force’s top brass amid ongoing demonstrations by Opposition parties and student organisations demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged SIR irregularities.
Shah’s unusual visit to the police headquarters, his first in four years, came ahead of the November 1 protest rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, announced by the Congress-led INDIA bloc.
Sources said his meeting with the top brass focused heavily on operational readiness and law-and-order issues pertaining to the escalating protests in the capital.
An official said Shah’s visit was also aimed at boosting the morale of the police, who came under scrutiny after the brutal crackdown on student protesters during the Cockroach Janta Party’s march to Parliament over exam irregularities in July. Since Delhi Police report to Shah, the Opposition had accused Shah of being responsible for security forces using pellet guns against protesters.
On Friday, the home ministry had extended for the second time the deployment of 27,000 paramilitary personnel in the capital till October 31, anticipating large-scale protests in the coming days.