Officers have been deployed across Connaught Place, Rajiv Chowk, Central Park, Jantar Mantar, Palika Bazaar, and nearby Metro stations — alongside other locations within Lutyens' Delhi — as part of a policing plan ahead of a 5 pm march, with personnel drawn in from surrounding districts; barricades have been erected at Connaught Place, Patel Chowk, ITO, and Sansad Marg as part of the same operation.
Keeping pedestrian flow intact while managing access across the commercial area's various entry and exit points remains the stated priority, according to officers. A police statement indicated that an additional 5,000 officers drawn from neighbouring districts have been set aside to reinforce the existing deployment.
Those plans run alongside the stationing of 220 CAPF companies assigned to New Delhi, with their remit extending across neighbouring districts, frontier zones, and other locations deemed strategically relevant. Each CAPF company fields a roster of roughly 100 personnel, and each of the three daily shifts will see thirty CAPF companies positioned across their assigned areas.
Deployment numbers could be raised to 60 companies per shift should attendance at the demonstration grow through the evening hours, an officer indicated, adding that the scale of any adjustment would depend on how the gathering develops overnight.
More than ten additional video units were deployed at Central Park and Rajiv Chowk ahead of the expected crowd, with footage to be retained should any rule breach or disruption occur. A police officer noted that the two locations had previously had little to no camera coverage, making the new installations necessary given the anticipated turnout.
Central Park in New Delhi will be closed to visitors on Friday and Saturday, with the New Delhi Municipal Council citing administrative grounds for the closure. Delhi Police indicated it could arrange a designated spot where a limited number of people would be able to hoist the national flag and participate in the national anthem.
The protest walk was organised after Citizens for Justice and Peace representatives Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were placed in judicial custody following their entry into Jantar Mantar on 13 October, against a backdrop of unresolved tension between the CJP and Delhi Police over gatherings directed at Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Backing for the planned rally is anticipated from student groups, political activists, and those aligned with the Aam Aadmi Party.
Officers are weighing the venue's numerous entry and exit routes, along with the prospect of attendees overflowing into neighbouring market corridors. Planning for the positioning and movement of personnel within the security cordon is under way at senior officer level, with attention given to limiting disruption to commuters and nearby businesses.
Delhi Police spokesperson Neha Yadav told reporters that no authorisation had been issued for the march and that orders under Section 163 of the BNSS — barring public gatherings — were already active across Connaught Place and its surrounding areas. The NDMC's call for restricted access to Central Park has been incorporated into the wider security plan, with the area's temporary closure forming one part of a layered set of entry controls.
Written requests from market and trade associations operating in and around Connaught Place were submitted to Yadav, with the groups citing concerns that large gatherings were affecting their businesses and appealing for protection of their establishments. Yadav stated that residents had been urged to keep away from gatherings held without authorisation, and that those found breaching prohibitory orders or unsettling public order would face consequences. She added that a limited number of demonstrators could receive clearance to conduct a flag march at a different venue, provided a fitting location was identified.
