New Delhi, Aug. 14 -- What began in 1995 as a one-off preparedness exercise after the Jammu Mandi terror attack has evolved into an annual, month-long operation that plays out quietly across Delhi before Independence Day. Each year, the Delhi Police special cell plants fake bombs, stages dummy terror strikes, and deploys "terrorists" carrying mock explosives - all to test the city's security apparatus without the knowledge of its civilian population.

The drills are planned in complete secrecy. Only the deputy commissioner of the special cell knows the full blueprint - the chosen locations, the timing, and the decoys. Not even senior officers are privy to this information.

"We pick one district at a time, starting with crowded places lik...