City under security blanket for Republic Day

“Chennai will have 22,000 policemen posted across the city for security. An addition to this 1,500 Tamil Nadu Special Police (TSP) personnel will be roped in. To avert any untoward incident 16 companies of paramilitary forces will be posted in strategic locations,” said a top police official. 

High ranking officers from other states will be part of the Republic Day celebrations and will oversee the security arrangements. 

“Among the officials, there will be 14 Inspector Generals of Police (IG) four Additional Director Generals of Police and 17 Superintendents of police,” said the police source. “The city will be under security wraps, beefed up post the law and order situation over the jallikattu protests. Apart from the city police, traffic police, coast guard and coastal police will also intensify their patrolling along the sea lines and policemen will be roaming on the shore in buggies,” an official said.

 Police forces will be deployed at all vital installations, shopping malls, places of worship and other public places including railway stations and bus depots. There will be traffic diversion in the morning hours. 

“However, the public can freely access the roads after 11 am,” said Additional Commissioner of Police for Traffic, Abhay Kumar Singh. The police have already erected watchtowers and barricaded roads. They will be carrying out raids and searches across the city. 

The police will also be conducting vehicle checks on the road. On 24 January, the City Police Commissioner asked senior officials in the department to take over each zone (East, West, North and South) for maintaining law and order.