Datanomics: Delhi assembly breach renews focus on security safety gaps

Rising security breaches in legislatures spotlight gaps in policing strength, surveillance coverage, and infrastructure across India

A masked man breached security at the Delhi Legislative Assembly on April 6, renewing concerns over persistent vulnerabilities in high-security government complexes. The intruder was later identified through CCTV footage.

 

India has recorded 12 major security breaches in legislative institutions since 2001—eight in state assemblies and four in Parliament. The last such incident at the Delhi assembly was in 2017, when intruders entered the premises and threw pamphlets.

 

Security at the complex is jointly managed by the Delhi Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The Delhi Police accounts for about 5 per cent of India’s 1.5 million civil police personnel, while the CRPF makes up 28 per cent of the 1 million-strong Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).

 

Police density flat nationwide, dips in Delhi: 

The average number of civil police per million population in India remained largely unchanged at 10.9 between 2015 and 2024. While Delhi’s police density is significantly higher than the national average, it declined from 34.4 to 32.8 over the same period. 

 

CCTV coverage skewed; Delhi lags behind: 

India had 591,885 police CCTV cameras in 2024. Telangana accounted for the highest share at 47 per cent, followed by Tamil Nadu (14 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (9 per cent). Delhi lagged behind with just 2.9 per cent. 

 

Security breaches rose sharply after 2014: 

Between 2001 and 2026, Parliament and state assemblies recorded 12 major breaches, with nine occurring after 2014—pointing to a marked rise in incidents over the past decade.