Police head out to 5 cities to identify trouble spots

CHENNAI: In a bid to deploy police observers for the first time during the assembly polls in Tamil Nadu, the election department on Thursday conducted a meeting with a police team comprising inspectors-general from other states to take stock of the law and order situation in the state.
The five members, appointed by election commission, are Jitendra, IG, economic offences wing, Andhra Pradesh, Pandey, ADGP, law and order, Jharkhand, Zaki Ahmed, deputy director, home affairs (narcotics bureau), P R K Naidu, IG, home affairs (narcotics bureau) and K V R N Reddy, IG, intelligence wing, Hyderabad.
Chief electoral officer Praveen Kumar said that they discussed about the law and order situation and other poll issues at length. “These police officials will go to important cities in the state and assess the threats. They will try to identify things that could disrupt the elections. The officials will also hold discussions with the police and revenue officials in each area. They will take extra measures to stop any illegal activities during the election.”
Kumar said Jitendra will be in Chennai and monitor the situation, while Pandy will go to Madurai. Zaki Ahmed and P R K Naidu will proceed to Salem and Tiruchi respectively, while Reddy would fly to Coimbatore to take stock of the situation there.
“All five officers will submit their report to the EC. After going through their reports, the EC will decide the places where it has to depute police observers,” he said.