New Delhi: Body-worn cameras and orange-coloured vests clearly marking them out—Delhi Police deployed their camera personnel in designated attire during the protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party at Jantar Mantar Saturday.
On the back of their vests, their identities as members of the New Delhi district police and their role as photographers were clearly demarcated.
Around two dozen of them were at the site, moving freely in all corners of the designated protest site, swarmed by college students, parents, and those who had gathered to hear CJP founder Abhijit Dhipke and activist Sonam Wangchuk.
Sources in the Delhi Police attributed the move to mere “logistic” arrangements to ensure proper identification of personnel deployed at the site without uniform.
“Protest sites nowadays, such as the one of today, are full of digital media professionals who carry similar cameras used by the police personnel as part of their work at the site of the protest. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of such camerapersons at the site of the protest and hence a call was given to our photographers to wear the vest for seamless identification,” a senior Delhi Police officer told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
Another officer said that around two dozen such vests were ordered, made in advance, and handed over to the police photographers.
In addition to the vests, the Delhi Police also equipped them with body-worn cameras to continue monitoring the footage at the protest site.
An Indian student based in Boston, Dhipke, formed the CJP, a digital entity, hours after a remark by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant comparing jobless youngsters to cockroaches triggered backlash. The CJI later clarified that the remarks were aimed advocates who entered the legal profession with fake degrees
But, the CJP had by then become a digital phenomenon with lakhs of followers on social media channels, even surpassing the number of followers acquired by BJP and the Congress on Instagram.
In addition to the technical measures adopted by the police, which had granted the No-Objection Certificate to the organisers of the CJP earlier in the day to hold a protest, they also deployed around 13 companies of Central Armed Police Force personnel. Troops from the Central Reserve Police Force and the Sashastra Seema Bal were deployed at the protest site to maintain law and order.
In addition to the extensive deployment of troops, all senior police officers, including New Delhi Range Joint CP Deepak Purohit, DCP Sachin Sharma, and aditionally DCP Pankaj Kumar Mishra, and DCP, Security Hukum Ram Sai, were present for the entire duration of the protest. The protest was prematurely concluded by the organisers after Dipke’s health deteriorated due to intense heat and jet lag.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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