Lucknow

Tight security arrangements have been made in major cities across Uttar Pradesh in view of Friday prayers and protests over the 'Agnipath' scheme. Drone surveillance will be carried out in sensitive areas, officials said.

While police across the state has been put on high alert, the government has deployed additional state and central paramilitary forces as a precautionary measure. 200 companies of PAC and 50 companies of Rapid Action Force have been called in to maintain peace.

Special focus is on security in Prayagraj, Kanpur, Lucknow, Moradabad and Saharanpur. So far 357 persons have been arrested in nine districts following last week's violence. Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Avnish Awasthi and DGP D.S. Chauhan have warned senior police and district officials of strict action in case of any laxity on their part. 

A home official said police and administrative officers were told to cooperate and communicate with prominent religious leaders in their districts. CCTV, video cameras and drones will be used at all the sensitive places as per the requirement, he said. ADG, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar, said 53 districts have been identified under two categories - hyper-sensitive and sensitive. The 24 hyper-sensitive districts include Prayagraj, Lucknow, Kanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Ayodhya, Varanasi, while among the 29 sensitive districts are Etah, Mainpuri, Kannauj, and Barabanki.

"These 53 districts will be under the direct watch of DGP headquarters on Friday," he said. The district Police chiefs and Police commissioners have been directed to give hourly updates. They will also share records of the peace meetings held with religious leaders, deployment of force along with measures taken for prevention of violence.

Lucknow Police Commissioner D.K. Thakur said adequate force has been deployed in sensitive areas and meetings with religious heads are being done. Inspector General of Police (Prayagraj Range) Dr Rakesh Singh said, "Adequate security arrangements have been made for Friday prayers and forces have been deployed at identified pockets. We have drafted a sector-wise security plan to maintain law and order. The city has been divided into more than a dozen sectors."

Apart from digital volunteers, cyber crime teams have been maintaining a strict watch on social media and have appealed to people not to post derogatory or inflammatory remarks or upload such videos. Police in Azamgarh, Balrampur, Gonda, Basti, Meerut, Agra, and Mathura conducted mock drills, while religious leaders appealed for maintaining peace.

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