New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday unveiled a 54 feet tall statue of Lord Hanuman at Sarangpur temple in Gujarat’s Botad district on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. The festival, which celebrates the birth of Lord Hanuman, is being observed across several states of the country including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Delhi.
Devotees participated in prayers at temples, processions and observed long-day fasts to please the lord and seek his blessings.
Amid festivities, the security forces were maintaining strict vigil to avoid any untoward incident on the occasion after several states witnessed violence on Ram Navami on Sunday. Heavy security was also deployed in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri where violence erupted last year during a procession.
Central Armed Police Forces In West Bengal
Three companies of central armed police forces were deployed in parts of Kolkata, Hooghly and Barrackpore, after directions of the Calcutta High Court, to assist the state police in maintaining the law and order situation in view of the violence that broke out during Ram Navami celebrations, said the officials, reported PTI.
The central forces were deployed in Kolkata's Amherst Street, Jorasanko, Park Circus, Kidderpore and Port areas, they said.
"A large number of officers of the Kolkata Police were accompanying the central forces in the sensitive areas of the city. Strict action will be taken against any attempt to disrupt law and order," a senior police officer said.
Senior officers of the Hooghly Police and Barrackpore Police Commissionerate in North 24 Parganas were accompanying the central forces deployed there.
Heavy Security In Delhi’s Jahangirpuri
Heavy security was put in place for a procession to be taken out on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti on Thursday in northwest Delhi's Jahangirpuri area, which was hit by communal violence last year.
As per the police, the organisers had sought permission for the Hanuman Jayanti procession in the Jahangirpuri area and the route has been regularised