New Delhi: Even as the Delhi Police has continued to receive harsh criticism for the way it has handled protests since the anti-CAA movement, the "elaborate" security arrangements that were designed for Republic Day on Tuesday broke down miserably as the police were backed into breaking their promise of escorting the tractor rally with "dignity and honour". At least on 13 separate occasions during the day, the Delhi Police and other law enforcement agencies controlling the rallies resorted to incessant tear gas shell firing and lathicharging. In fact, the police had gone on the offensive the moment farmers removed barricades and entered the Capital hours before their permission had allowed them to. The Delhi Police later on Tuesday told the media that 86 of their personnel and one civilian were injured, with most receiving head and limb injuries. Many policemen also reported being knifed. In addition, scores of farmers brutalised by law enforcement agencies were critically injured and one protester was also killed. Before the parade, on Monday, a no-objection certificate was given to farmers containing 37 points which were to be followed during the parade but from the early morning of Tuesday, most of the points were not implemented. Moreover, even as the Delhi Police had realised that their limit of restricting the rally to 5,000 tractors was futile, preliminary estimates showed that around 25,000-30,000 tractors, trolleys and vehicles had entered the Capital on Republic Day, leaving the Delhi Police completely unprepared for the scale and severely outnumbered. Significantly, the security arrangements failing had led to factions of farmers from each rally breaking away and proceeding towards the Outer Ring Road and the Red Fort. The Delhi Polices efforts to restrict the rally had reached desperate proportions when policemen and policewomen had to sit-in on roads to block farmers from meandering. At ITO, police and farmers faced off in a titanic clash, following which the leaderless farmers ran amok trying to run over policemen and onlookers with their speeding tractors on the main ITO crossing. However, the police claimed that over 50 of its personnel were injured in the violence at the Red Fort, from where law enforcement is also said to have rescued about 200 Republic Day Parade artists later in the day, who were trapped in the Fort after their event on Rajpath. An automated teleprompter message with a timestamp of 12:30 pm cautioned police officers that farmers may proceed to Rajpath, India Gate, Rajpath, Ramlila ground, Rashtrapati Bhawan, PM residence, HM residence, Parliament, CM residence and LG house. Senior officials are yet to confirm whether this was a genuine message. And while weapons of any kind were strictly prohibited during the march, farmers had no problems uprooting rods along the routes and wielding them as weapons. Nihang Sikh and others brandished swords near Akshardham. Unconfirmed reports were coming that a tear gas gun was snatched from a policeman during the parade. When one official was asked about such an incident, he said he did not know anything about it. At ITO, which is one of the most secure places in the city, protesters broke barricades, damaged police vehicles right in front of the old police headquarters. During all the chaos, the lower-ranked staff showed patience. In one incident, a policeman was saving a woman personnel from protestors. He was even beaten with a stick but he did not react and ensure that woman personnel safely reached the PCR vehicle. In East Delhi, around 35 personnel were injured during the clash. "Delhi Police has taken necessary action with patience to maintain law and order in the city. Several policemen were injured and there is also loss of property," police said in their press statement. They asked protestors to stop the violence and return to their protest sites.

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