About 150 companies of Central forces to be deployed in state by March 7

Around 100 companies of Central forces are scheduled to reach Bengal on March 1, ahead of the Election Commission’s (EC) full bench scheduled visit to the state. Another 50 companies will come on March 7.

According to sources in the Commission, among the 100 companies of Central forces slated to arrive on March 1, 20 companies are CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force), 50 companies BSF (Border Security Force ), 10 companies CISF (Central Industrial Security Force ), 10 companies SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal) and 10 companies ITBP (Indo Tibetan Border Force). Among the 50 companies reaching the state on March 7, 10 are CPPF, 30 are BSF, 5 are SSB and another five are RPF. The full bench of the Commission is scheduled to reach the state on March 3 and is expected to be in the city till March 5.

The Commission has decided to deploy 920 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in Bengal in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls which is the highest among all states and union territories. In the previous Lok Sabha election, the Election Commission deployed 740 companies of Central forces in a phased manner to ensure a peaceful election.