Rajkot/Ahmedabad: Indian police security forces at Rajkot stadium have been warned they face action if they are caught watching the match between India and South Africa on Sunday.
The venue for the third ODI has been heavily fortified and thousands of security forces deployed throughout the city amid threats of a protest from the as Patel quota agitation group.
But the officers on duty did not seem too focused ont he job at hand, judging by the scramble to get pictures of the players while they were practising at the ground on Saturday.
Rajkot Range IG D.R. Patel said any officer caught watching the game instead of doing their job would be punished.
A day after leader Hardik Patel said he would block the way of the Indian and South African cricket teams to the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) stadium if he and his supporters were not allowed to stage a demonstration, the 22-year-old on Saturday said they do have tickets for the match, due to start at noon UAE time.
He has also urged Patel community members to remain present in large numbers during the match to voice their demands for reservation, a campaign which has gathered pace over the last two months.
“We have asked around 50,000 community members to rush to the SCA stadium tomorrow for agitation,” the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) convener said.
“My match ticket has been purchased by Rajkot unit of PAAS and I am going to attend the match tomorrow.”
In the wake of the threat and given the large-scale violence the state witnessed recently, police have fortified the stadium, located on the outskirts of Rajkot city at Khandheri village.
“Over two thousand policemen, three companies of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), one company of Rapid Action Force (RAF), and seven teams of quick response cells (QRC) and five Superintendents of Police (SPs) have been deployed to ensure smooth conduct of the match,” Rajkot Range IG D.R. Patel said.
Three drone cameras and 90 CCTV cameras have been installed at the stadium to closely monitor the crowd, he said.
Meanwhile, Hardik’s close aide, Dinesh Patel, said PAAS conveners of Saurashtra region and other associates will go to watch the match and if they are stopped, the state government will face the wrath of the Patel community.
