MillenniumPost
Bengal

Beef up security arrangements in state: Election Commission

The full Bench of Election Commission on Monday held a review meeting with the Chief Secretary and Home Secretary of both West Bengal and Assam through a video conference taking stock of the inter-state security arrangements ahead of the Assembly elections.

It was learnt that during the meeting, the Commission has asked the Chief Secretary and Home Secretary of the state to beef up the security arrangements along the bordering areas of Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha to check the smuggling of arms and the illegal movement of people who enter into the states with ulterior motives during the elections.

Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dibyendu Sarkar said that maintaining law and order has been a top priority of the Commission. To ensure free and fair elections in the State the Commission has been giving a stress on the security arrangements of the bordering areas of the state. The Commission had asked Chief Secretary and Home Secretary to strengthen the security arrangements along the border so that illegal smuggling and entry of the criminals can be checked.

Senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs also joined the video conference in which the Commission’s full Bench also sought a status of the confidence boosting measures in the bordering areas of the state. The Election Commission has submitted a requisition to the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking three helicopters for conducting the polls smoothly.

Sarkar said that the Commission needs three helicopters during the elections and for this, a requisition has been submitted to the Home Ministry. According to the sources in the Election Commission, the full Bench has also instructed the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in the state to make adequate security arrangements in the Maoist affected areas during the polls. Earlier the commission had instructed the Chief Electoral Officer to take some special arrangements in the Left Wing Extremism divisions so that no untoward incidents take place during the polls.
Next Story
Share it