'42 polling stations sensitive'

CHANDIGARH: With Chandigarh administration deciding on 404 polling booths to cater to around five lakh voters of the city, local police on Thursday handed over a list of 42 polling stations to be declared sensitive even as no booth or station was considered hypersensitive.
���While the previous Lok Sabha elections saw no major violence, officials didn���t want to take a chance, considering that colonies are often the pocket boroughs of many candidates,��� said a source.
In a break-up, south division is said to be the most vulnerable, with nearly 23 sensitive polling stations including those in Sector 45 (where Colony Number 5 will exercise its franchise), Dadu Majra Colony and villages Maloya, Palsora and Ram darbar.
The list - which reportedly keeps in mind city���s history along with factors like crime-prone areas and likely to mark 80 polling stations as sensitive - was passed on to chief electoral officer-cum-deputy commissioner RK Rao at a meeting attended by SSP SS Srivastava, ASP Madhur Verma, DSP PK Dhawan and DSP Jaswant Khaira. ���Cops have been asked to take care of soft spots, keeping a close watch on proclaimed and habitual offenders and criminal suspects,��� said a policeman.
Meanwhile, two polling stations in central division and 10 in east are stated to be sensitive. ���Two stations have five polling booths in Kumhar Colony in Sector 25. In recent times, there have been instances of communal violence and the crime rate too is high here,��� said Verma.
In the east division, UT police has shortlisted 12 polling stations with 40 booths covering the areas of Bapu Dham, Indira colonies, Colony Number 4 and Mauli Jagran village.
���Although there is no record of any poll-related violence, the situation among people here seems to be volatile. There have been instances of impersonation and scuffles which may assume greater proportions on election day,��� said a cop.