4,586 arms in custody

The city police will have police mobile units. 1,200 booths marked as critical.

A total of 4,586 weapons were collected by the Hyderabad police in connection with the upcoming elections. Some 2,835 non-bailable cases were booked and 13,400 regular cases were also booked against offenders, said the Police Commissioner of Hyderabad, adding that 21 different wings of the force have been deployed for a smooth election process.

The drive started weeks ahead of the polls. Police officials took several factors into consideration such as criminal activities of the individual in the past, abnormal voting pattern for a particular candidate in the polling station, past record of malpractices at the booth-level etc. The city police will have police mobile units covering 389 routes, each having 10-12 polling locations.

“The public has deposited 4,586 weapons with the police. We have given exemptions to bank security guards, members of the National Rifles Association and other people. We have bound over 4,200 rowdy-sheeters, criminals, and others for good behaviour. Around `3 lakh worth of liquor was seized. We have organised 47 training sessions for constables, inspectors and sub inspectors,” he added.

Roughly 40 lakh voters are expected to cast their vote in the city. There are about 4,000 polling stations in Hyderabad out of which 1,200 are marked critical, the official said.