New Delhi, Oct. 17 -- A massive deployment of security personnel which meant that forces outnumbered protesters by nearly three to one, preventive action against key organisers and tight control over access to Connaught Place helped Delhi Police prevent a large gathering and avoid major clashes during the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) "Lehra Do Tiranga" protest on Friday, police officials aware of the arrangements said. By maintaining around 6,000 security personnel in and around Connaught Place from early afternoon until late evening, the police and central forces managed to significantly outnumber the roughly 2,000 protesters - according to police estimates - that gathered in central Delhi, two officials familiar with the crackdown told HT, requesting anonymity. The officials identified three factors behind the police's ability to maintain control: the heavy deployment of personnel, the quick detention of key organisers, including CJP convener Abhijeet Dipke and student leader Neha Bora, and the prevention of any single large crowd from assembling at the protest site. By 9pm, around 150 people had been detained and removed from Connaught Place, Mandi House and roads around Jantar Mantar, officials said. HT had reported that Delhi Police had deployed 6,000 staff in central Delhi, which was in addition to around 26,000 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel in the area over the past week. Security arrangements in and around the commercial hub had begun on Thursday evening and were intensified by Friday afternoon, when Central Park and the inner and outer circles of CP were heavily fortified. The outcome was markedly different from previous protests. On Friday, protesters could only gather in smaller groups, carrying placards and the national flag and raising slogans against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Around 150 people were detained during the day, but no major allegations of excessive lathicharge or tear-gas shelling were reported. At Central Park, the proposed focal point of the march, hundreds of security personnel, including members of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), stood guard inside the premises to prevent protesters from entering. Outside, nearly 200 personnel, particularly from the CAPFs, basically formed a human chain encircling the park. Senior police officers also conducted flag marches along the pavements and restricted movement near the site, including that of journalists. The police also sought to prevent key organisers from reaching the protest site. Plainclothes personnel were stationed outside places where Dipke and other organisers were staying from Thursday evening, a senior police officer said, requesting anonymity. According to the officer, the aim was to track their movements and take preventive action before they could join the march. Dipke was staying at a house in central Delhi's Jhandewalan. Around 1.30pm, a six-member team reached the premises and served him a notice informing him that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were in force in the New Delhi area. The notice asked him not to join the march, the officer said. "The police team also took an acknowledgement of the notice from Dipke, binding him legally to follow the police instructions," the officer said. Dipke was detained later in the afternoon when he left the house and attempted to reach the protest site, the officer added. All India Students' Association (AISA) leader Neha Bora was among the few prominent organisers who managed to reach the area. She reached Mandi House and led a march before police detained and removed her, the officer said. No other key CJP leaders were seen at the main protest site in CP, according to the official. Despite the extensive arrangements, protesters managed to hold marches in smaller groups at multiple locations. Around 6pm, nearly an hour after the march began, police personnel started asking protesters who had taken four to five rounds of the inner circle to move aside and avoid obstructing traffic. Dispersal began around half an hour later, and the inner circle was cleared of protesters within the next 30 minutes, even as security personnel and parked buses remained in place....