10,000 policemen roped in from neighbouring States for Lok Sabha election security
They will be in addition to Tamil Nadu’s 1.25 lakhplus police force, hundreds of Home Guards and exservicemen, and 190 companies of the Central Armed Police Force already deployed
At least 10,000 police personnel have been roped in from neighbouring Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for security arrangements in the runup to the Lok Sabha election in Tamil Nadu. The armed personnel will be deployed at about 3,000 places identified as “vulnerable” across the State before polling on April 19.
Reciprocal measure DirectorGeneral of Police and Head of the Police Force Shankar Jiwal told The Hindu on Thursday that the police personnel were being pooled for deployment in accordance with the guidelines of the Election Commission. This would be a reciprocal measure: Tamil Nadu would send an equal number of police teams to the neighbouring States ahead of the polling there.
The manpower from other States would be in addition to the 1.25 lakhplus police force of Tamil Nadu, hundreds of Home Guards and former servicemen, and 190 companies of the Central Armed Police Force that have already been deployed.
While implementing the EC guidelines, the focus was also on providing VVIP security during the campaign. Mr. Jiwal said that about 240 VIPs were provided with various scales of security. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi were among the VIPs who required protection with Advance Security Liaison with lawenforcement and intelligence agencies.
“Senior police officers are in close contact with organisers of roadshows, rallies, and meetings to ensure compliance with the security protocols and guidelines prescribed by the Varma Commission and the Indu Malhotra Commission. The venues of such events are declared nofly zones, and operating drones is also not allowed,” he said.
Weapons deposited Additional DirectorGeneral of Police and State Police Nodal Officer Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal said that 17,583 licensed weapons were deposited with the police ahead of the election. Weapons used for security or sports were exempted. Additional manpower was deployed at 3,000 vulnerable locations that had a history of pollrelated violence, and more than 4,000 persons who had criminal antecedents were bound over under security provisions.
At the State level, more than 17,000 persons identified by the police as potential troublemakers were bound over. The Tamil Nadu police were coordinating with their counterparts in the bordering States to strengthen surveillance and security along the borders and checkpoints, he said.