New Delhi, Dec. 30: Click what you like, but never wave your camera at the wrong VIP residence. Particularly if it happens to be 10 Janpath.

Road experts Vikas Thakur and Neeraj Sharma found out the hard way on Tuesday evening when they were detained by police for taking pictures of the road in front of ruling coalition chairperson Sonia Gandhi?s residence in Delhi.

Not that they were breaking any law.

But then, neither did the Maharashtrian couple who were sighted videographing 10 Janpath on November 25. By evening, the police were on their trail.

Photography is not prohibited around 10 Janpath. But while it may be easier for Indian tourists to take pictures of 10 Downing Street in London, taking pictures of 10 Janpath in Delhi is like touching a raw nerve when it comes to security.

In both instances, hours of interrogation followed till details were verified. According to Anita Roy, deputy commissioner of police, New Delhi, the detentions were just a precaution. ?We had not arrested them. They were just detained so that we could verify what they were telling us. After the verifications, they were allowed to go,? she said.

Roy, however, denied that the detentions were a prelude to plans to turn the area around 10 Janpath into a no-photography zone. ?How is it possible? That is where all the camerapersons wait when they want a bite from her (Sonia),? she said. ?However, if someone is taking photos in a suspicious manner, we have to check it out.?

Unlike the Prime Minister?s official residence or Rashtrapati Bhavan, there is no buffer zone to the approach to 10 Janpath.