Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to the airport during peak traffic hours on Friday morning to receive his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina.
Sources in the Delhi Police said that the PM left his residence at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg in a truncated motorcade around 11:20 a.m. — an hour before Ms. Hasina was to arrive.
Officials said that no information was sent out to the security departments till he left for the airport. His car travelled with just one security jeep, which escorted him throughout the route.
Sources also told The Hindu that the truncated motorcade stopped at the Sardar Patel Marg red light and slowed down considerably near the Army R&R Hospital. However, people around did not realise that Mr. Modi was travelling inside one of the sedans.
Route cleared on way back
“Regular security was restored and the route cleared when he was returning,” said a traffic official.
While the Prime Minister reached the airport at 12.09 p.m., Ms. Hasina’s plane touched down five minutes later.
Earlier this week, a video had gone viral after it showed policemen refusing to step aside for an ambulance carrying an injured child because of VIP movement. The ambulance was stuck for several minutes because of barricades put up for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s convoy.
According to the eyewitness who posted the video, several cars moved aside to let the ambulance pass, but the police did not remove barricades.
