The Special Court, which delivered the verdict in the Gulbarg Society massacre case on Thursday, resembled a fortress with heavy police posse deployed. Not only the court premises, but the sensitive areas in the city and the abandoned Gulbarg Society were heavily guarded.
The authorities put in place tight security arrangements at key places while beefing up the security of the judge, lawyers and witnesses who had testified during the long drawn trial that lasted almost seven years.
Besides the regular police, two teams of State Reserve Police (SRP) were also deployed while police patrolling was increased to ensure law and order.
Drones in sensitive areasTwo unmanned aerial surveillance drones were also pressed into service in communally sensitive areas for live streaming of visuals and images to the police headquarters.
“Heavy and elaborate security arrangements were enforced in the city to maintain peace,” said a police official.
Meanwhile, the court premises were chock-a-block with policemen, media personnel and relatives of the victims and accused who had gathered outside the courtroom anxiously waiting for the judgment.
The trial court judge P.B. Desai, who entered the court room around 11 am delivered the judgement in 45 minutes and posted the sentencing in the case for June 6.
