The spirit of Id-ul-Fitr, which was on display across the city on Monday, also extended to the large police force that had been deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
Local masjid committees as well as individuals set it upon themselves to keep the police fed with delicacies prepared specially for the festival. At Neelasandra, the so-called epicentre of the recent trouble, groups of local residents offered ‘kheer’, ‘firni’ and ‘biryani’ to the policemen guarding street corners, providing much-needed nourishment on what was a hot and sunny day.
‘Have faith in us’
Police Commissioner B.G. Jyoti Prakash Mirji addressed a gathering of nearly a lakh people who had gathered at the Idgah Maidan in Benson Town. Greeting them on the occasion, Mr. Mirji advised the people from the community to have faith in the law and order establishment.
Deputy Commissioners of Police from various divisions in the city headed convoys into the areas perceived as sensitive.
According to top police officers, the DCPs were on rounds from 5 a.m. onwards and their first break was at noon.
There was also heavy deployment of paramilitary and police forces in the five Idgah Maidans (prayer grounds) in the city, each of which hosted a congregation of over a lakh devout.
According to senior police officers, in these grounds too the organisers offered food and savouries to the forces deployed there.
The total strength of the law enforcement forces on the ground was estimated to be 12,000, including civil police as well as several formations of the Rapid Action Force, State and Central Reserve Police.
Despite all these measures, the exodus of northeast people spiked once again on Monday evening after a considerable lull the previous day. According to railway sources, 1,151 people had booked themselves on the Bangalore-Dibrugarh train by 9 p.m. on Monday.
