ITC Maurya under siege for Obama’s visit

NEW DELHI - ITC Maurya, where the Obamas will stay till Tuesday morning, was swarming with hundreds of US and Indian security personnel Sunday as the luxury hotel prepares to receive its most high-profile guests this year.

US President Barack Obama and First Ladey Michelle Obama are expected to check into the presidential suite at the hotel. They are expected to land in Delhi at around 3.30 p.m.

“We have placed several policemen from Delhi Police’s mounted division, ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force), and CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) personnel. Security officials in plain clothes are also manning the road,” a senior police official told IANS.

American security personnel and officials are also present outside the hotel.

Security agencies in Delhi have deployed snipers at rooftops, two battalions of Delhi Police outside the ridge opposite ITC Maurya, 15 companies of paramilitary officials and elite National Security Guard (NSG) personnel.

“We will also have around 400 Delhi traffic policemen to facilitate the movement of Obama’s entourage, on all routes it will take,” the police official said.

Sardar Patel Marg, where ITC Maurya is located, will be blocked from both ends around half an hour before the American president and his cavalcade arrive.

During his visit in Delhi, a five-tier security cover comprising Indian and American security officials will surround Obama.

–Indo Asian News Service