500 CAPF companies deployed in poll-bound Bihar

As many as 500 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have been stationed in Bihar for pre-poll duty, while a total of up to 1,200 companies are likely to be deployed once the elections begin there on November 6, sources aware of the development said.

Out of the 500 companies of CAPFs, around 100 are of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), 121 are from CRPF and the remaining are from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and state police, sources informed.

They further said that while the Election Commission of India (ECI) has sought deployment of around 1,500 to 1,800 companies of CAPFs during the Bihar polls, the actual deployment could be of around only 1,200 companies, depending on the approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs and ECI.

The ECI on October 6 had announced the schedule for the elections to the 243-member Bihar Assembly, where polls are to be held in two phases on November 6 and 11. The counting of votes will be taken up on November 14.

The maximum of the CAPF companies for the Bihar polls will be drawn from the SSB, followed by other forces like the CRPF, Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), CISF and Railway Protection Force (RPF).

A single CAPF company has an operational strength of about 70-80 personnel.