Kozhikode: In order to assist in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and to facilitate a peaceful and fair election the first batch of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) has reached the district, for guarding sensitive polling booths and to support the local police in cases of emergency situations.
The batch that arrived on Saturday comprised of 80-members belonging to the Indo-Tibetan Border Security Police (ITBP) from the ITBP’s Kerala headquarters and they will camp at Nadapuram indoor stadium until the completion of the Lok Sabha elections. The company will report to Assistant Commandant V.V. Vinukumar.
The exact location of deployment of the forces will be finalized later on the directions of District Police Chief (Kozhikode Rural) Mr. U. Abdul Kareem. According to the Nadapuram station house officer, Mr. V. Rajeevan, the Nadapuram police station comprises of about 77 sensitive election booths within its limits. These election booths will be mainly guarded by the additional forces along with the local police. He added saying that the further details such as duty location and booths will be finalised at a later stage. In case of need, there are also possibilities that shifting may be implemented on security requirements.
When the previous Assembly elections were conducted, the personnel of the para-military forces, including the Central Reserved Police Force and the Boarder Security Force, were deployed in the district. They provided their services in Nadapuram and surrounding regions. During that period, there were 117 sensitive booths in the region. Out of the 1,886 polling stations in the district, 400 had been listed as sensitive.
In addition to the deployment of forces, steps will be taken to ensure flawless web casting service using BSNL connectivity. This service will also be used to monitor sensitive booths by high-ranking police officials and the District Election Officer to make spot intervention. A control room will be opened at the collectorate for the purpose. The support of the Kerala State Information technology Mission and Akshaya will be sought to run web-casting facilities.
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