CHANDIGARH: Ahead of the Republic Day celebrations a red alert has been sounded by the Punjab Police in the state as more than 15,000 police personnel have been deployed across the state over see the law and order.Sources said that this year the heightened security arrangements have been made because of a series of recent blasts on police installations by the pro-Khalistan elements. The farmer unions have also given a call for tractor march on January 26.Special DGP (Law and Order), Punjab, Arpit Shukla said that special operations are being launched in all the districts of the state. “A red alert has been declared in Punjab given the Republic Day celebrations. Special operations are being launched in all the districts across the state as senior officers have been sent to the fields to inspect the security arrangements. Also checking is being done across the state to keep an eye on gangsters, smugglers, and anti-social elements.’’Shukla said the district police have been provided with the additional force to deploy in the security arrangements and for a vigil on the inter-district and inter-state borders. “Searches are being made at all sensitive points by special teams,” he added.The venue of the Republic Day function where Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will unfurl the national flag has been changed at the last minute from Faridkot to Patiala after pro-Khalistan slogans were found written on the walls near the Nehru Stadium in Faridkot.”The venue was changed from Faridkot to Patiala purely because of administrative reasons,” Shukla said.
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