NEW DELHI, Aug 13: Thousands of security personnel patrolled New Delhi streets on Saturday as India went on high alert ahead of celebrations early next week marking the 58th anniversary of independence.

The Red Fort, a 17th-century Mughal-built complex where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will deliver his second Independence Day address on Monday, was sealed off as commandos carried out mock drills against possible attacks.

Police in plain clothes and snipers were deployed on high rises near the fort complex with all houses and other buildings within a three-kilometre radius of the Red Fort “sanitised” over the weekend, a police spokesman said, referring to police checks of the premises.

Armed police set up roadblocks in the city, conducting random checks on all types of vehicles — cars, small and big trucks.

The city’s borders with neighbouring states would be sealed on Sunday, he said.—AFP