Mahakumbh: ID verification of all visitors to mela area made mandatory
Be it saints, workers, or cops, verification of identity made mandatory for all; Op to continue till Jan 13
MAHAKUMBH NAGAR (PRAYAGRAJ)
With just days remaining for the formal start of the mega religious fair of Mahakumbh-2025, the mela police have made identity verification of all visitors a must in the sprawling tent city spread across 4,000 hectares.
Be it saints, workers, or even policemen, verification of all visitors in the fair area has been made mandatory. From the working roadside vendors to the shop operators and employees, the identity of everyone will be verified. The mela police will ensure the identity of every person by running Operation Verification continuously till January 13, informed officials.
The step follows days after a seven-tier security system was put in force ahead of the New Year and the fair by the Prayagraj police.
Police officials are on their toes, especially in the wake of a video by Canada-based Sikh for Justice chief and designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun making threats to spread terror during the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj going viral. This comes within days of three terror suspects allegedly involved in a grenade attack in Gurdaspur, Punjab, being killed in an encounter by a joint team of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab Police in Pilibhit. The threat specifically mentioned targeting key bathing festivals, including January 14 (Makar Sankranti), January 29 (Mauni Amavasya), and February 3 (Basant Panchami).
Since December 26, different operations have been undertaken continuously to search for suspicious persons and vehicles in the mela area. The aim is to identify every person inside the mela area through Operation Verification. Identity cards, names, addresses, and mobile numbers of employees working under different contractors in the fair area, shop owners and their employees, saints and their guests staying in tents, Kalpvasis, and even police personnel are being recorded, informed SSP (Kumbh) Rajesh Dwivedi.
Instructions have been given to identify even individuals coming in police uniforms so that no suspicious person can succeed in their plans by coming in the guise of police or saints to cause trouble, he added.
On Monday evening, the police conducted an Operation Kavach campaign on Shastri Bridge. During this, apart from suspicious persons, vehicles were also checked. At the same time, camps in the tent city were inspected under Operation Mahavir.
On Monday, officials of the mela administration and police visited the fair area, led by ADG Zone Bhanu Bhaskar. Necessary instructions were given after inspecting the Kali Marg Pontoon bridge in the fair area, the main roads in the Kalighat and Sangam area, besides Akshay Vat, the Lete Hanuman temple, and the ghats in the Daraganj area. On this occasion, Prayagraj police commissioner Tarun Gauba, IG Prem Chaudhary, DM of Kumbh Nagar Vijay Kiran Anand, DM-Prayagraj Ravindra Mandar, SSP (Kumbh) Rajesh Dwivedi, among others, were present.
