IND Vs PAK: Fortress Ahmedabad, 11,000 Security Personnel To Guard India Vs Pakistan Match- Report

Over 11,000 personnel from various agencies, including Gujarat Police, NSG, RAF, and home guards, will be stationed in Ahmedabad and at Narendra Modi Stadium for the high-profile India-Pakistan World Cup cricket match scheduled for October 14.

This robust security deployment comes in response to perceived threats. While Ahmedabad has maintained a record of peaceful cricket matches over the past two decades, security forces will also be positioned in potentially sensitive areas as a preventive measure, according to Ahmedabad Commissioner of Police G S Malik.

Earlier, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel chaired a meeting with Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, state DGP Vikas Sahay, G S Malik, and other senior police officers in Gandhinagar to review the security measures. Malik, addressing a press conference, stated that the chief minister has directed the police to take all necessary steps to ensure a trouble-free sports event.

Security arrangements have been meticulously devised to address factors such as the movement of over 100,000 spectators at the stadium and recent threats conveyed via an email from unidentified individuals.

Alongside more than 7,000 police personnel, approximately 4,000 home guards will be deployed to secure the stadium and maintain law and order in potentially volatile areas during the match. Additionally, three ‘hit teams’ and an anti-drone team from the NSG will be present, along with nine teams from the bomb detection and disposal squad.

“Along with more than 7,000 police personnel, we will deploy nearly 4,000 home guards to secure the stadium and to maintain law and order in communally sensitive areas of the city during the match. In addition to these personnel, we will deploy three ‘hit teams’ and one anti-drone team of the NSG. Nine teams of our bomb detection and disposal squad will also be utilized,” said Ahmedabad’s Commissioner of Police, G.S. Malik.

Ahmedabad Will Receive the Services Of RAF, NDRF, and SDRF During The IND Vs PAK Match

Four senior IPS officers and 21 deputy commissioner of police (DCP) rank officers will oversee and guide the personnel on match day. In addition to 13 companies of the state reserve police (SRP), three companies of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) will monitor sensitive areas of the city. An evacuation plan has been prepared, with rehearsals ongoing at the stadium to address any potential stampedes.

“Apart from 13 companies of the state reserve police (SRP), we will deploy three companies of Rapid Action Force as part of our security setup. The RAF will keep a watch on communally sensitive areas of the city. To help people in case of a stampede, we have already prepared an evacuation plan and rehearsals are also going on at the stadium,” Malik added.

Teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will also be deployed in the city to handle chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies during the match.

Despite threats received by Mumbai Police in an email, suggesting harm to the prime minister and the stadium’s destruction, Ahmedabad’s city police have carefully assessed and responded to these threats. The email was traced back to a foreign location.

Authorities are confident in their preparedness to ensure a safe and peaceful event, especially given the sensitive nature of the match. Last month, an FIR was registered against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the leader of the banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), for threatening to turn the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 into the “World Terror Cup.”