Ranchi district administration will increase security in the state capital to ensure peaceful Republic Day celebrations across the city and its suburbs.
Additional security forces will be deployed in all sensitive parts of the city on Saturday, Ranchi superintendent of police Sujata Kumari Veenapani said on Wednesday. Security personnel from the Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) and other districts of Jharkhand will patrol the various roads in Ranchi and maintain a strict vigil on all sensitive points, she added. “ATS (Anti Terrorism Squad) will be active in Ranchi on Republic Day. Besides, sniffer dogs will be deployed at all important points in the city,” said Veenapani. She added that additional measures have been taken to ensure foolproof security at the airport, railway stations, bus stands and other public places. Malls too will be under police surveillance, the SP said. Governor Droupadi Murmu will unfurl the national flag at Morhabadi on Saturday, and elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure there are no security lapses. “Metal detectors will be installed and armed policemen will be deployed in the periphery of Morhabadi,” said a senior police official involved in chalking out the security plans for Ranchi.
Meanwhile, officers in-charge of all the 47 police stations in Ranchi district have been asked to be on alert. While the urban areas will be under the surveillance of the city police, security personnel will be deployed in the rural areas to avert any untoward incident planned by left wing extremist groups, police said. Ensuring elaborate security arrangements in and around Ranchi on important days becomes one of the key responsibilities of the district administration since the state’s largest Republic Day celebration is held in the state capital. Besides, 21 of 24 districts in Jharkhand are left wing extremism-affected, and the rebels are always on the lookout for an opportunity to create nuisance on important days.
Meanwhile, social media activities will also be under scanner to ensure rumours do not cause unnecessary panic among the residents of Ranchi, police said. Traffic route chart for Republic Day will be released on Friday, officials said.
