Security beefed up in city for today’s election

Security has been tightened up to avoid any untoward incident on the first day of the election in the city on Thursday.

Electorates will exercise their power in Chowringhee, Entally, Beliaghata, Jorasanko, Shyampukur, Manicktala and Kashipur-Belgachia Assembly constituencies in the city. Polls in rest of the four Assembly seats will be held on April 30. Besides Kolkata Police, 70 companies of Central Force were moving around different parts of the seven Assembly constituencies since Tuesday night and the same force will be on-duty on Thursday to assure violence free election. 

The Central Force jawans were found posted in the strong rooms in Netaji Indoor Stadium. The security checking at different points in the city had started since Tuesday night. Jawans accompanied by an officer of the city police were found checking documents at various places where the elections are scheduled to be held. In a bid to prevent outsider from sneaking into the area to create any sort of violence, the jawans were found stopping cars and motorbikes to check paper documents. Security checking at 72 points will continue till the polling ends. Besides strengthening the security and the entry and exit points of the city, jawans led by an officer from the local police station were found patrolling in different areas to assure that 1,44,9977 electorates can cast their votes without facing any trouble. In case of any problem they face, the voters can seek help dialing a toll free number 18003455057. The jawans were found patrolling on small vessels of the city police’s river traffic section on river Hooghly to prevent illegal immigration in the state.  

Jawans of the Central Force were also posted at all the 1859 polling stations in the seven Assembly constituencies. Extra vigil will be maintained in 324 sensitive booths and 324 vulnerable hamlets. There will be 29 booths in the city where only female election officials will be carrying out the poll process.   Seven LMS vehicles fitted with video cameras will patrol in the region. Moreover, there will be 28 static surveillance teams, 21 flying squads, 29 quick response team and 17 heavy radio 

flying squads.  A mini-truck carrying crude bombs and a huge quantity of low intensity explosives, which are commonly called metal rocket, was intercepted on Howrah Bridge during a security checking on Wednesday. Two persons Amit Shah and Pradip Roy were arrested and were booked under Section 9(B) of IE Act.