Rahul Gandhi Indore Event: Police impose 31 security conditions, cite Verma Commission

The indore city Police have beefed up security measures ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme on September 19. The police has issued a comprehensive list of 31 security measures for the event, including responsibility for several crowd, safety measures, which will be the responsibility of the organiser.

According to the police, the security lapses highlighted by the Justice J.S. Verma Commission (which looked into circumstances surrounding the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991) had been in effect. The results of the commission have been used to further enhance security for a certain event.

Strict Crowd Management Measures

The key requirements include deployment of at least 1,500 volunteers, including 500 women volunteers, for crowd control. The performance area will also be broken up into “sectors” that will have a capacity of up to 2,000 individuals per and separate custodians to manage each.

The organiser must ensure that there are at least 8 exit gates and 6 entry gates, as well as security screening equipment. Double barricading will be applied in sensitive areas and a D-zone of 25-30 feet will be kept in front of the stage.

There will also be 40 CCTVs which will enable the monitoring of the venue during the day/night, medical arrangements including ambulances and medical personnel, are part of the prescribed arrangements.

Organisers Face Responsibility for Safety

The circumstances chip another problem on the hands of the Rahul Gandhi’s event organisers for ensuring adherence to the safety protocols. Authorities have also called for proper controls over entry/exit, parking and emergency response/ crowd management.

The event venue near Regional Park was given approval after it was refused permission to be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The Indore Development Authority then leased approximately 12000 square metres of land for the event.