Mumbai: 15000 cops on duty for Dussehra rallies of rival Senas

Over 15,000 Mumbai police personnel will be deployed to ensure security and manage crowd control at various locations, including Dussehra rallies organized by rival Shiv Sena factions, an upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup match scheduled for Tuesday, and during the conclusion of the Navratri festival for the immersion of Goddess Durga idols.

The ruling Shiv Sena and its rival group led by former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray are holding their Dussehra rallies at Azad Maidan (south Mumbai) and Shivaji Park in Central Mumbai’s Dadar, respectively, where police personnel will be deployed in strength. The police are geared up to deploy adequate personnel at the two high-profile political rallies which will start late in the evening and see participation from a large number of people, including workers of the ruling Shiv Sena and the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT), said the official.

Besides the rallies and the World Cup match, the metropolis will also see immersion of Goddess Durga idols after the end of the nine-day Navratri festival which will also keep cops busy with law and order and crowd management duties. Considering that a large number of people come out on streets during the immersion processions, police are being deployed at all prominent places, the official said.

As many as 12,449 lower-rank personnel, 2,496 officers, 45 Assistant Commissioners of Police, 16 Deputy Commissioners and half a dozen Additional Commissioners of the city force are being deployed across the financial capital, he said.