About 15 companies of police from Bengal to be deployed for poll duty in MP & Ch’garh

Reposing faith in the state police, the Election Commission (EC) is now deploying cops from Bengal for electoral duties in two BJP-ruled states, namely Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

According to sources, 15 companies from Bengal will be utilised in the elections of these two states. They will have to join duty by April 8.

Personnel from the State Police as well as Kolkata Police will be part of the force that will be sent to these states.

It is learnt that a majority of this force will be sent from Durgapur and Barrackpore in Bengal. One company from Eastern Frontier Rifle (EFR) in Bengal will also be part of the police team. The details of the police forces to be deployed have already been communicated to the state administration through the Union Home Ministry.

The Election Commission, to ensure a fair and peaceful Lok Sabha elections in Bengal, has already sanctioned 920 companies of Central forces in West Bengal – the highest allocation among all states in the country, even more than Jammu and Kashmir where 635 companies of Central forces have been sanctioned.

Central forces have also been sanctioned for Chhattisgarh (360 companies), Bihar (295), Uttar Pradesh (252), Punjab (252), Jharkhand (250), Gujarat (200), Rajasthan (200), Maharashtra (150), and Madhya Pradesh (113). Additionally, violence-affected Manipur will see the deployment of 200 companies.