Be polite but firm, Jaipur top cop to personnel ahead of literature festival
“You are the brand ambassadors of Jaipur for the next five days,” is the direct message of Jaipur police commissioner Sanjay Agarwal to the hundreds of police personnel entrusted with ensuring the security of the Jaipur Literature Festival that kicks-off at the Diggi Palace on Thursday.
The annual gathering of writers and book lovers witnesses a footfall that ranges in hundreds of thousands over the five days and has been a centre of protests at several occasions in the past. This time around, with the Shree Rajput Karni Sena going on a rampage in many parts of the country against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Padmaavat”. Notably, Mahipal Singh Makrana, the president of the fringe group, has warned it will protest against the presence of Central Board of Film Certification chief Prashoon Joshi at the festival.
“This is the twelfth edition of the festival and you are aware that it represents Jaipur. The festival is associated with the feelings of our people and attracts thousands of tourists to Rajasthan. It is a festival of our home and we must work accordingly,” Agarwal told the police personnel in a briefing at the Diggi Palace on Wednesday.
The commissioner said that the Jaipur police will provide three-layered security to the festival. There will be police personnel at the entrance, as also at the surrounding highrises, inside the venue in uniforms
JAIPUR: Along with ensuring the security, we also must see that the people visiting here have a good experience. So you need to be polite to visitors.
SANJAY AGARWAL, Jaipur police commissioner
as well as civvies and dozens of CCTV cameras will monitor all the venues throughout the five days.
“Be polite but firm. If there’s any problem, inform your seniors. There’s no challenge that Jaipur police cannot overcome. We are prepared for everything,” he said, before explaining that there will be bomb and dog squads to assist them.
Responding to a question on the threat posed by Shree Rajput Karni Sena, the commissioner said: “Jaipur is a tourist destination and several festivals happen in the city. I am sure JLF will go well. We have a three-layer security and the organisers have full support of the state government and the police.”
Deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Gaurav Srivastava said that some visitors may disagree with speakers at the festival and they are within their rights to express their dissent.
Along with Jaipur police, a private security agency has also been roped in by the organisers to ensure that the festival “reaches to its logical conclusion”.
“We have strengthened deployment at the festival and have conducted a full security round with the concerned officers. We have also brought in two companies of Rajasthan Armed Constabulary along with Emergency Response Teams to counter any security issue. We have also installed face recognition camera to identify potential miscreants,” said Additional Commissioner of Police Nitin Deep Blaggan.