New Delhi: Police and protesters played a cat-and-mouse game from Friday evening, with even public toilets purportedly turning into hideouts for some of those planning to reach Jantar Mantar the next day.Police sources claimed around 20 protesters had taken shelter in a public washroom in Connaught Place Friday night, hoping to reach the protest site early next morning before barricading was fully in place. However, their plan was foiled when police spotted and detained them.Cops are probing whether the group had gradually assembled inside the washroom over several hours after restrictions were imposed across the city Friday. The facility is usually locked at 10 pm and reopened at 6 am, potentially allowing the protesters to remain out of sight until morning, when security arrangements were expected to intensify.The police strategy was straightforward: prevent protesters from congregating at Jantar Mantar. From Friday evening, personnel across the city were assigned to visit “places of interest” and keep a watch on potential troublemakers, particularly those suspected of exploiting the stir to create a law-and-order situation.According to the sources, police swung into action soon after the proposed demonstration was announced. Officers were tasked with identifying people allegedly involved in violence during previous protests in the city, history-sheeters and small-time political or social activists suspected of trying to exploit the stir to seek publicity.“We have seen a pattern in the past of troublemakers infiltrating protests. We had dossiers on several such people. During the June-July protest, around 2,000 people with criminal backgrounds and their associates were identified and checked by police. When some of them were asked about the reason for the protest, they could not explain it. They were not allowed to participate,” a police source said.This time, cops had identified around 3,500 people for scrutiny, according to the source. Of them, nearly 2,000 were flagged based on prior intelligence inputs suggesting they might turn up at Jantar Mantar. Their movements were monitored and routine checks were carried out to assess whether they intended to join the gathering. “Those identified were kept under watch. Not everyone was detained, but some were taken into custody,” the source added.The preventive action was not limited to New Delhi district. Police in 14 other districts also played a key role, detaining people suspected of attempting to reach Jantar Mantar. Local police stepped up checks as around 200 people in each of at least two districts were detained.The district-level action was part of a wider effort to prevent groups from mobilising in different parts of the capital and converging on Jantar Mantar. Police teams were deployed at strategic locations, while officers kept watch on possible gathering points, transport hubs and other places where the agitators could assemble before moving towards the site.With permission for the demonstration denied, police focused on preventing an unauthorised gathering from taking shape. Surveillance, preventive detentions and checks continued through Friday night as officers sought to ensure that protesters could not bypass the security arrangements.
