Salman Khan bail plea hearing: Tight security at Bombay High Court today

Mangalore Today News Network

Mumbai, May 08, 2015: Stung by criticism for the chaos and mobs of fans outside the sessions court building Wednesday when actor Salman Khan was convicted in the 2002 hit-and-run case, the Mumbai Police will deploy 200 personnel Friday, in addition to the 400 personnel already guarding the High Court premises all year round. Senior officers, however, said law and order preparations at the sessions court Wednesday were not mismanaged.

The actor’s regular bail application will come up for hearing at the Bombay High Court Friday.

On Wednesday, when Khan was convicted and sentenced to five years of imprisonment by the sessions court, policemen outside had a visibly tough time managing the nearly 1,000 people who turned up to catch a glimpse of the actor.

“Both the sessions court and the High Court are vital installations and are protected round the clock in any case. On Wednesday, we had provided around 150 extra personnel at the sessions court. On Friday, there will be 200 additional personnel, in addition to the 400 personnel that are anyway deployed at the High Court for its regular security,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (South Region) Krishna Prakash. As additional measure, two platoons of the State Reserve Police Force will also be at the spot.

Prakash, however, insisted that the police were not at fault for Wednesday’s chaos.

“The interior of the court is not too spacious and when too many people entered, it led to chaos. Electricity was also shut off for a short period, adding to the chaos. As far as the exterior area is concerned, I think it was well managed.

It is difficult to control access inside the court building as there are many courtrooms inside it and a lot of people need to enter the building for their own work,” said Prakash. He added that the same kind of problem was not anticipated on Friday as the interior of the High Court was more spacious and there would also be additional bandobast.

 

Courtesy: Indianexpress