Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel prepare for the maintenance of law and order in the clash-hit Atala area in Prayagraj.
Highlights
- Tight security, drone surveillance in UP today
- 200 companies of PAC, 50 companies of RAF have been deployed to maintain peace
- 53 districts have been identified under two categories: hyper-sensitive and sensitive
Prophet row: Drone surveillance is being carried out in sensitive areas across major cities of Uttar Pradesh in view of Friday prayers and also the protests over 'Agnipath' scheme. The administration has deployed 200 companies of PAC and 50 companies of Rapid Action Force as a precautionary measure to contain any sporadic outbursts.
CCTV, video cameras and drones will be used at all the sensitive places as per the requirement and 'sector plan' be implemented by the police, officials said. ADG, law and order, Prashant Kumar, said 53 districts have been identified under two categories: hyper-sensitive and sensitive. Tight security arrangements are in place across the state as police have been put on high alert for Friday prayers. Special focus is on security in Prayagraj, Kanpur, Lucknow, Moradabad and Saharanpur.
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So far 357 persons have been arrested in nine districts for the violence after Friday prayers in some of the districts on June 10. Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Avanish Awasthi and DGP D.S. Chauhan have told the senior police and district officials that strict action would be taken in case of any laxity on Friday. A home official said the police and administrative officers were told to cooperate and communicate with the prominent religious leaders in their jurisdiction.
Among 24 hyper-sensitive districts are Prayagraj, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Ayodhya, Varanasi while 29 sensitive districts include Etah, Mainpuri, Kannauj, Barabanki and others. The district police chiefs and police commissioners in districts have been directed to give hourly updates to DGP headquarters on Friday. They will also share record of the peace meetings held with religious leaders, deployment of force along with measures taken for prevention of violence which include 'samvad' with youth.
Apart from digital volunteers, cybercrime teams have been maintaining a strict watch on social media and appealed people not to post derogatory or inflammatory remarks or upload such videos else strict action would be initiated accordingly. Police in Azamgarh, Balrampur, Gonda, Basti, Meerut, Agra, Mathura conducted mock drills, while religious leaders appealed for maintaining peace.
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