Over 7K security personnel guard district

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 18

As many as 7,400 cops, including paramilitary forces, have been deputed for providing foolproof security and thwart the possibility of any untoward incident during the Lok Sabha elections in the district. In the 11 Assembly constituencies, the district administration has identified 517 sensitive and 2 hypersensitive polling booths.

A heavy police force has been deployed at the election cells from where the polling staff left for their stations with EVMs, VVPAT machines and other requisite documents.

Police Commissioner SS Srivastava, along with senior police officials, visited all the election cells and passed necessary instructions to the cops regarding the security measures they should take in case of any untoward happening or violence. He said Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer Shivdular Singh Dhillon had informed that there were 37 sensitive polling booths and 1 hyper sensitive in Ajnala while in Rajansansi Assembly constituency, there were 74 sensitive polling booths.

Similarly in Majitha, there are 106 sensitive polling booths. In Amritsar North, West, Central, East and South, there are 42, 37, 12, 12, and 15 sensitive polling stations, respectively. One hypersensitive polling station has been identified in the Amritsar Central.

In the rural belt, 66, 51 and 65 polling booths in Attari, Jandiala and Baba Bakala, respectively, have been declared sensitive.

Srivastava said no stone was left unturned to provide foolproof security arrangements.

He said checkpoints had been installed at the entry and exit points besides different parts of the city where vehicles are being checked intensively to keep an eye on the movements of notorious people and outsiders. He said there were over 3,500 cops and paramilitary jawans on duty in the city area.

Amritsar (Rural) SSP Vikram Jeet Duggal said that in the rural belt, 3,900 cops, including eight companies of paramilitary forces, were deployed.