Kolkata, 6 districts go to vote with 2.3 lakh central boots, 38,000 more state cops on ground

KOLKATA: Over 2.3 lakh CAPF, 38,297 Bengal police personnel, 142 general observers, 95 police observers and 100 expenditure observers, and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have thrown an unprecedented security blanket in seven poll-bound districts, including Kolkata, ahead of Wednesday's election.

In the past 72 hours alone, 2,348 ‘trouble mongers' have been put behind bars under EC directive, including Trinamool councillors in Panihati and Burdwan. EC sources said that 653 non-bailable warrants are pending. "The commission has asked police to ensure that no trouble-mongers are outside by dawn," said a source.



Kolkata will see the deployment of 274 companies of central forces, numbering nearly 22,500 personnel. In addition, Kolkata Police will be deploying around 7,250 odd men of its own for the protection of 5,172 polling booths within 1,961 polling premises. This is the highest-ever poll deployment in Kolkata.

On Wednesday, NIA, too, deployed multiple teams in all eight electoral districts. The teams fanned out to multiple places, including Khagragarh, where a blast killed two terrorists and injured three others in 2014.

According to officials, district-wide deployment has been planned based on sensitivity and past poll-related incidents. The highest number of forces will be deployed in Kolkata, followed by East Burdwan (263) and Hooghly Rural (236).

"The EC will deploy additional CAPF in the form of QRTs in Bhangar, Canning, Falta and Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas and in Nadanghat and Ketugram in East Burdwan," a senior EC official said, while adding that the commission has identified close to 12,000 critical booths out of a total 41,001 polling stations.

Extensive security arrangements and real-time monitoring have been put in place to ensure free-and-fair polling, Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal said on Tuesday, assuring voters that the administration remains fully alert.

"All polling stations are under webcasting, and activities are being monitored from the control room. Immediate action will be taken in case of any complaint," he said, adding that strong police deployment has been ensured outside booths, supplemented by paramilitary forces.

Urging citizens to exercise their franchise without fear, Agarwal said: "No one will be able to harm you. The entire administration is vigilant. Voters should go and cast their votes freely."

The EC has also warned that accountability will be fixed if any untoward incident occurs despite heavy deployment. "Police personnel must carry out their duties effectively. Failure to do so will invite action," Agarwal warned.

On Monday night, more than 800 more people were arrested from the poll-bound districts, bringing the total number of arrests ahead of the second phase to 2,348 in the past 72 hours. In addition, the central forces are visiting sensitive zones and asking local political functionaries to work "within the realm of law" or "face consequences".

Central forces have also stepped up patrols, route marches and checkpoint inspections across districts. The EC has directed security personnel to carry out constituency-wise deployment and step up area domination exercises in interior lanes and sensitive neighbourhoods to ensure that voters can exercise their franchise without fear.

Keeping the EC directives in mind, central forces have now started patrolling the city's alleys on motorcycles. From Sunday night, personnel have begun this patrol in the lanes of each police station area in Kolkata.

According to sources, in each station area, a half-section of the central force, meaning four personnel on two bikes, are conducting this surveillance. They are accompanied by one or two Kolkata Police officers on separate motorcycles. The bike patrol continued on Tuesday night.
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