homeBANGALORE: Karnataka police have identified 9,954 hyper-sensitive polling booths, including 149 booths in Naxal-affected areas, in the state for Sunday’s assembly elections.
Additional director general of police (law & order) Bipin Gopalakrishna said all the 88,323 state police personnel, 525 platoons of central paramilitary forces and 18,000 Home Guards from Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh will be deployed.
“There will a three-tier security ring around polling booths with local police supervising the bandobast and paramilitary forces standing guard. In Naxal-affected areas, the central troops will be deployed. The state’s armed police including the Karnataka State Reserve Police will also be on duty,” he said.
Bipin said over Rs 7.48 crore cash had been seized during the past few days and liquor worth over Rs 11 crore and gift materials worth an equal amount stacked for inducing voters were also seized across the state. Over 170 checkposts all over the state and in border areas pulled in this haul.
“There may be more money in circulation. We conducted raids based on information available and on suspicion,” he said, adding that over 1.64 lakh people were arrested and over 85,000 firearms deposited in various police stations on directions of the Election Commission.
“We took 21,867 persons into preventive custody, and 58,036 pending warrants from the courts were also executed to keep troublemakers away from the poll arena,” he said.
22,000 personnel deployed in Bangalore
About 17,000 civil personnel, 4,000 men and officers from central forces and 1,000 Home Guards will be deployed for election duty in Bangalore on Sunday, commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar said.
At least one policeman will stand guard at all the 6,450 booths in Bangalore and one mobile squad will be deployed for every 15 booths. This squad will frequently visit its jurisdictional booths. Cluster booths (those with three booths) will be guarded by men from central forces. All polling booths will be under CCTV camera surveillance.
Twenty-eight arrests have been made so far in election-related cases and 218 cases booked under various sections. Over Rs 1.56 crore in cash meant for distribution among voters was seized in the city and gifts worth Rs 17.36 lakh were also seized. At least 2,800 rowdy elements have given executive magistrates an undertaking of good behaviour, he added.
