With the Prime Minister delivering his maiden Independence Day speech without a bullet-proof shield and thousands of people in attendance, to ensure an incident-free event was a greater challenge this time around for security agencies.
Around 15,000 security personnel from the Delhi Police and paramilitary forces today kept guard at the Red Fort and the area surrounding it and ensured that the Independence Day celebrations went by without a hitch.
It was literally an hawk-eyed vigil at the venue, as for the first time two high-resolution cameras costing Rs 2.5 crore were mounted at the two 'burjs' (towers) of the Red Fort to keep a tab on any suspicious activity in a four-km radius of the Mughal era monument.
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"There are only two such cameras in the country which have been hired by the Delhi Police at Rs 50,000 per day from Mumbai. They have been mounted on two burjs of the Red Fort. We can even zoom in on a housefly in the radius of four kms with them," said a senior police official.
The cameras, which were mounted yesterday, are more powerful than those used by television broadcasters.
The live feed from the cameras was closely monitored at the Delhi Police command room at the venue. An official from the NSG was also watching the live footage so that he could have instructed the snipers at high rises if the need arose.
Besides, police had also installed around 200 closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the vicinity of the Red Fort while about 500 were mounted on all routes leading to the 17th Century fort.
"It was for the first time that CCTV cameras were installed on the entire route taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi via Rajghat. Even the contingency route had a network of CCTV cameras," said a senior Delhi Police official.
Armed security personnel were deployed at every 50 meters during the event that keenly monitored every movement.
