India and Pakistan will clash in the big-ticket ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 encounter at the largest cricket stadium in the world on October 14. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the two Asian rivals with more than one lakh fans watching the spectacle at the venue.
Given the diplomatic tensions between the two sides, more than 11,000 personnel of various agencies including Gujarat Police, NSG, RAF, and home guards among others will be deployed in Ahmedabad and at Narendra Modi Stadium.
Despite Ahmedabad never witnessing communal violence during cricket matches played in the city in the past 20 years, security forces will be deployed in several communally sensitive areas as a precautionary measure, said Ahmedabad Commissioner of Police G S Malik.
Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel held a meeting with Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, state DGP Vikas Sahay, G S Malik, and other senior police officers in Gandhinagar to review the police's action plan to ensure that the high-profile sports event passes off without any trouble.
GS Malik said at a presser that elaborate safety measures have been made considering factors like the movement of more than 1 lakh spectators at the stadium and a recent threat issued by unidentified persons through an email.
"Along with more than 7,000 police personnel, we will deploy nearly 4,000 home guards to secure the stadium and to maintain law and order in communally sensitive areas of the city during the match. In addition to these personnel, we will deploy three 'hit teams' and one anti-drone team of the NSG. Nine teams of our bomb detection and disposal squad will also be utilized," Malik was quoted by India Today.
"Apart from 13 companies of the state reserve police (SRP), we will deploy three companies of Rapid Action Force as part of our security setup. The RAF will keep a watch on communally sensitive areas of the city. To help people in case of a stampede, we have already prepared an evacuation plan and rehearsals are also going on at the stadium," Malik added.
Also present in the city and at the venue will be teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to deal with any chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies during the match.
As per reports, Mumbai Police received an email in which an unidentified sender issued threats to harm the prime minister and blow up the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The sender also demanded Rs 500 crore and the release of notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi from jail.
Malik said: "We have assessed such threats and made our deployment plan accordingly. Moreover, such an elaborate security arrangement is necessary when more than one lakh spectators are going to come to watch the match. We also took into account the fact that it will be a sensitive match and it can create communal disturbance.”
Gujarat Police, last month had registered an FIR against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the chief of the banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). He had threatened to turn the ICC World Cup in India into the “World Terror Cup”.
(India Today inputs)
