A policeman stands guard at Delhi’s Sarojini Nagar, one of the sites of last year’s blasts. Picture by Prem Singh

New Delhi, Oct. 20: As excited families hurry from shop to shop, police constable Raghuvansh Nath Mishra watches eagle-eyed for suspicious behaviour.

It’s the day before Diwali but even as he sees people in Sarojini Nagar market buy gifts for their loved ones, Mishra doesn’t have time to think about what he should get his own children.

Working two five-hour shifts a day on an elevated platform outside Saluja’s juice shop — the site of the worst of last year’s pre-Diwali blasts — the only break he allows himself is to occasionally wipe sweat off his brow, knit in concentration.

“All my time and energy goes in keeping track of movements around me. It is hard work,” he says.

The imprint of last year’s blast is visible in the form of 200 policemen, stationed every 10 metres, in addition to those on platforms at the end of each lane. Closed-circuit TVs hang from poles every 50 metres.

Despite the large numbers, the job for Mishra and his colleagues is anything but easy. They must not let a potential militant slip past them, and any search they conduct must not be obtrusive.

“We have added pressure because we have been told to make sure we don’t offend anyone, even by mistake,” says Shiv Shankar, another policeman at the market.

Every police station has been sent a circular by commissioner K.K. Paul’s office to ensure that “the Diwali spirit” does not suffer as a consequence of heightened security.

Not that the spirit is as high as on other years — fear has kept many Diwali shoppers away from popular haunts like SN Market and Paharganj, where another of last year’s blasts occurred.

But the number of devotees at places like Birla Mandir and Jama Masjid is as high as ever, and it is at these sites that the police are keeping maximum vigilance.

“Our information suggests that terror attempts have been planned for religious sites, and the Jama Masjid or Birla Mandir are the most likely,” says additional commissioner of police Santosh Vishnu at Chandni Chowk police station, 100 metres away from Jama Masjid.

At the thana the atmosphere is sombre. Diwali leave — a ritual till last year — has not been sanctioned to anyone. Policemen from other police stations have been called in to beef up security outside the masjid.

Although the policemen have been promised compensatory leave after the festive season ends with Id, right now they’re making do with boxes of sweets from the Delhi government.

“That’s the extent of our Diwali,” says Vishnu.