Over 1,500 women cops to guard PM Modi’s all-woman rally in Varanasi

Varanasi: An unprecedented force of over 1,500 women personnel will stand guard at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s all-woman public meeting in his parliamentary constituency, where he is poised to unleash a political broadside against the opposition over the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam.Amid a grand fleet rehearsal ahead of the PM's two-day visit from Tuesday, senior police officials are busy arranging women personnel to manage crowds and frisk participants at Nari Shakti Vandana Sammelan. An estimated 50,000 women are expected to attend the event, making it a grand display.The event will be managed by an all-woman team, with security at the venue also being handled exclusively by women police personnel.

According to Police Commissioner Mohit Aggarwal, internal security, crowd regulation, and frisking of women participants will remain in the hands of women police personnel, with almost 1,000 of them deployed at the BLW ground alone. Over 500 women cops will be deployed at other strategic points.Amid renewed political focus on the stalled women’s reservation legislation in Parliament, Modi will visit his parliamentary constituency to address a grand public meeting.

The BJP’s women’s wing, Bharatiya Janata Mahila Morcha, is holding mandal-level meetings to mobilise over 50,000 women for Modi’s public meet in Kashi. Several meetings have been held to hammer out a strategy to expose opposition parties for blocking the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in Parliament and making people aware of their “anti-women face”.“Apart from women personnel available in the district, we are also arranging additional women cops from adjoining districts,” Aggarwal told TOI on Sunday, adding that many constables who passed out of training on Sunday will also be deployed for crowd management.As the movement of women towards the BLW will remain high, the deployment of women police personnel will also be ensured on the roads and crossings, he said, mentioning that the traffic plan has been finalised for PM’s visit. Route diversions planned for different roads will be effective an hour before VIP movement.After Saturday’s advance security liaison meet, SPG and IAF began fleet rehearsals on Sunday with choppers conducting touch-and-go exercises at the BLW helipad. The CP said a final briefing for forces from other districts and local police on security and crowd management for the PM’s visit will be held Monday.