Security stepped up for final phase of polls in W Bengal
Security was tightened in West Bengal yesterday ahead of the final phase of Lok Sabha elections today.
An uneasy calm prevails in the West Bengal capital Kolkata that witnessed large-scale violence and vandalism because of which campaigning was stopped 20 hours before the scheduled time.
Over 700 companies of central forces, 460 Quick Response Teams (QRT) and state police were deployed today’s polling in West Bengal.
Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata South, and Kolkata North will vote today.
“All the security-related arrangements
have been completed. Measures are in place taking all the factors under considerations,” Ajay V Nayak, special observer for West Bengal, said yesterday.
“Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC has been clamped up to a distance of 200m from the polling stations. Violation of this order may result in three years of rigorous imprisonment with a fine,” Central Police Observer Vivek Dubey said.
He said the 710 companies of central forces will provide 100% static postings at all the 17,058 polling booths.
In addition, 461 QRTs headed by an assistant commandant of central forces will also support, Dubey added.
Kolkata police will have 178 QRTs. The QRTs have been instructed to reach a scene of trouble in five to seven minutes. The response time will not exceed 15 minutes, Dubey said.
A civic constable has been attached as a guide and liaison officer to each QRT. In all the nine parliamentary constituencies they would be ready to strike or raid the targeted joints and take troublemakers into custody, Dubey said.
Route marches were being continued in vulnerable areas as confidence-building measures.
The Kolkata police were seen checking various hotels to see ‘purpose of the visitors’ staying there. Police is alert at all check points in and out of the state.
In other election-related news, Bhagwant Mann, the Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab unit chief said Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has put his stamp on the allegations of Sukhbir BadalAmarinder Singh bonhomie that the AAP has been levelling since the Congress government came to power in Punjab.
Mann, the AAP candidate for the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, quoted Sidhu as saying both were in league to protect each other’s personal and political interests.
In a statement, Mann said even though the people of Punjab were privy to the ‘friendly’ match between the two families the views expressed by a senior cabinet minister in the Amarinder Singh government was significant and proved the AAP’s allegations.
Had there been no friendly feelings between the two prominent political families, umpteen cases of corruption against the Badals would not have been shelved nor would Amarinder Singh have received a clean chit in multi-crore scams, the AAP leader said.