One train carrying CAPF troops reached Delhi on Friday afternoon while another will arrive tonight, they added. The ministry of railways had to arrange at least six special trains at short notice to bring nearly 10,000 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel to the national Capital for security preparations ahead of the October 10 protests, officials aware of the matter said, adding that railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and senior ministry officials held a nearly three-hour meeting with the Prime Minister’s Office ( PMO ) on Thursday evening to discuss train arrangements, including cancellations and diversions.
Meanwhile, people in the aviation sector said that the CISF also sought passenger details from airlines for select flights to Delhi on Friday and Saturday. Delhi police also took details of passengers who had booked tickets to Delhi to take part in the protests. Different student groups on social media shared videos of them being deboarded while en route to Delhi for the protests. Delhi police have tracked passenger records and shared it with their counterparts.
Because prohibitory orders are in place across the New Delhi district, the officer said no group has been allowed to assemble in Jantar Mantar. The deployment of more than 26,000 personnel from CAPFs, working alongside the Delhi Police to manage the protests, is the largest in Delhi since the February 2020 assembly elections, the visit of US President Donald Trump and the Delhi riots—all of which occurred in the same month. Officials said the 110 additional companies are from all forces – CRPF, BSF, SSB, ITBP and CISF. Most of them are coming from Jammu and Kashmir(J&K), West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, adding to the 111 companies already deployed in Delhi. Each CAPF company has a sanctioned strength of 120-130 personnel, of whom around 75-80 are generally deployed. Together, the 221 companies will work alongside the Delhi Police. At least 75 Mail/ Express trains (40+35) and 179 local trains (short distance like Delhi Ghaziabad, Delhi- Meerut, Delhi- Panipat, Delhi- Kurukshetra) cancelled between 4am and 2pm on Saturday. At least 14 trains that were set to arrive in Delhi on Friday night and Saturday have been cancelled.
Senior police officers, who asked not to be named, said Thursday evening that police would stop some people arriving in Delhi by air who planned to drive towards Jantar Mantar. In the run-up to October 10, the Indian Railways have cancelled multiple trains en route to Delhi, citing “intelligence inputs and traffic advisory” which indicate severe road congestion around New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway station.
