Amit Singh, mounts his horse, ‘Woodstock’. (Express photo: Pallavi Singhal)Eight Chandigarh police personnel, mounted on horsebacks, patrolled Panjab University, every one hour, on Friday. The horse-riding personnel were among the 500 Chandigarh police personnel and 150 security personnel keeping guard on the campus to maintain the law and order situation during the polls.
As many as 75 policemen surrounded the gymnasium, where votes were counted and 50 personnel patrolled the Student Centre, one of the main hubs of activities. The police personnel were equipped with seven gypsy cars, two police buses, one water cannon, one mobile control room bus and a riot police bus.
On using the age-old method of horse patrolling on the campus, Sub-inspector Baldev Singh, CIA, said “Whenever a large number of people gather, and there is a possibility of a law and order violation, horses are used to easily scatter the public, as most of the people are afraid of them. Moreover, with the horses, one can gallop anywhere, a bitumen road is not needed.” Further, assessing the situation on the campus, he said, “Though there is no need for such an operation here, all precautions have to be taken in case a riot breaks out.”
Another police official, SI Amritpal Randhawa of Chandigarh police lines said, “This is an old tradition but is only used in present times to reach areas that are inaccessible to vehicles.” Designated police personnel patrol the campus on horsebacks for seven days during the last phase of the elections. The horses come from police stations at Sector 34 and 39 in Chandigarh and the riders of these horses are given a six-month training before their deployment. Mostly, policemen volunteer for this training. Amit Singh, a constable of the Sector 34 police station, who has been patrolling PU on horseback, said, he volunteered to learn horse riding as he is fond of horses and likes riding them.
A host of cars also tried to enter the university, but without success. At least 10 policemen stood at the entry gate with three barricades blocking the entry, to ensure that only PU students were allowed inside. The cars entering the campus were rigorously checked and the identities of persons were verified.
While Gate No 1, in front of PGI, remained shut, Gate No 2 and 3 recorded traffic jams through out the day.
