Security heightened, facial recognition software in place ahead of Republic Day

New Delhi, Jan 25: The Delhi police has made elaborate arrangements ahead of Republic Day.

A total of 48 Companies of the Paramilitary forces, 17,000 Delhi Police Personnel will be on guard on January 26. In addition to this, the central agencies such as the Intelligence Bureau would work in close coordination with the Delhi police.

There would be 500 X-ray machines and 1,000 CCTVs in place as well. The police will also rely on facial recognition software in various places.

Meanwhile, the Intelligence Bureau has warned of possible drone attacks by Pakistan.

There is tight security, especially in the border areas. Security forces have been advised to remain on a state of very high alert especially along the International Border passing through Kathua, Samba and Jammu district. Further, security is also high along the Line of Control.

Intelligence Bureau officials say that the chatter picked up suggest that Pakistan would look to carry out drone attacks and also increase infiltrations.

The Intelligence Bureau has emphasised on using high tech equipment as the warning this time is specific to drone attacks.

These drones are a potential threat and the government is looking for a solution to counter this problem. In this regard, the agencies conducted a data estimation and learnt that there are over 6 lakh rogue or unregulated drones of various sizes and capacities.

These drones are a potential threat and the government is looking for a solution to counter this problem. In this regard, the agencies conducted a data estimation and learnt that there are over 6 lakh rogue or unregulated drones of various sizes and capacities.

A recent paper titled 'Drones: A new frontier for Police' published in the Indian Police Journal (IPJ) by IPS officer and Additional Director General in Rajasthan Police, Pankaj Kumar Singh has talked about these new techniques.

A drone gun is capable of jamming the radio, global positioning system (GPS) and mobile signal between the drone and the pilot and forces the drone to ground in good time before it could wreak any damage. This Australia designed weapon has an effective range of 2 km, the paper said.

Another solution to block a lethal drone is the sky fence system that uses a range of signal disruptors to jam the flight path and prevent them from entering their target, a sensitive installation or event venue, it said.

Officials said prototypes of these counter-drone weapons were displayed for the first time at an open field in a BSF camp in Bhondsi, Haryana last week as part of a national conference organised by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) on anti-drone technology.

The Centre now wants to impart training to police officers of all states to check this menace. The Bureau of Police Research and Development is currently in talks with the police chiefs of all states so that training can be imparted to counter new terror threats that have been emerging.