Delhi blast: 200 additional cameras and vehicle scanners to boost security around Red Fort

Currently there are over 600 cameras installed within a close radius around the Red Fort.

Following the Delhi blast that killed 15 people, more than 200 additional cameras and Under Vehicle Scanning Systems will be installed to tighten surveillance at the Red Fort.

A report by News18, the decision was taken following multiple high-level meetings involving several stakeholders, after the 10 November blast.

Currently there are over 600 cameras installed within a close radius around the Fort. A Hyundai i20 exploded near Gate No. 1 of Delhi's Red Fort Metro Station.

Ahead of the blast, the car had been parked in the Red Fort’s parking area for over three hours. It was captured on the CCTV cameras at the entry and exit points. However, it could not be traced within the parking zone due to a lack of internal CCTV coverage.

According to News18, the parking area also received its first Under Vehicle Scanning System. This will help scan all vehicles entering the monument for any suspicious items.

“The Red Fort and some of its peripheral areas fall under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India. Following a detailed survey, the Delhi Police may write to the ASI for technological upgrades as required," a senior police officer told News18.

Additionally, the PWD and MCD have been asked to sanitise sewer lines that run under and around the monument. This move will ensure such spaces are not used for any suspicious activity.

The Delhi blast investigation on Friday revealed that Dr Muzammil Ganaie, one of the prime suspects arrested in connection with the white-collar terror module linked to the November 10 terrorist incident, had two more hideouts near the Al Falah University.

Besides renting hideouts in Fatehpur Taga and Dhauj in Faridabad, Muzammil had taken a house on rent from the former sarpanch of Khori Jamalpur village on the pretext of starting a Kashmiri fruit business, and a small room built on a farmer's land, police sources have said.

The accommodation, owned by Jumma Khan, has three bedrooms and a hall plus kitchen, and it was about 4 kilometres from Al-Falah University, where Muzammil worked and was picked up by the J&K police.

He stayed here between April and July on a monthly rent of Rs 8,000,  sources told ANI.