Delhi Lieutenant governor Anil Baijal has granted power to the police commissioner to apprehend anyone under National Security Act (NSA). A notification will be issued in this regard which will be in place till October 18, 2021.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 3, read with clause (e) of Section 2 of the National Security Act, 1980, the Lt Governor is pleased to direct that during the period July 19 to October 18, the Delhi Police Commissioner may also exercise the powers of detaining authority under sub-section (2) of the section 3 of the aforesaid Act,” the notification stated.
The NSA allows preventive detention of an individual for months if the authorities feel that the individual is a threat to national security, and law and order. The Lieutenant Governor’s order comes ahead of Independence Day and at a time farmers protesting against the Centre’s three agriculture laws have been holding ‘Kisan Sansad’ at central Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
The Delhi Police, meanwhile, said that it is a routine order and is issued regularly. The area around Parliament in the heart of Delhi is heavily barricaded and additional security personnel deployed in the wake of the ‘Kisan Sansad’. Parts of the national capital are under triple-layered security cover due to Independence Day on August 15. The personnel from Delhi Police, Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were seen armed with anti-riot gear in the area
