Eight companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will add an extra layer of security at polling stations located in politically sensitive areas in Kozhikode district on April 26. This will be in addition to the deployment of about 2,500 police officers from various police stations and Armed Reserve camps.
Considering the high number of sensitive and critical booths, seven CAPF companies will be deployed in Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency. There are 120 sensitive booths in the constituency. This is apart from other 43 booths in the area which are facing Maoist threats. The service of the remaining company will be made available for the already identified 21 sensitive booths in Kozhikode constituency.
According to senior police officers in-charge of security arrangements, there will be 24x7 video surveillance around polling booths from Thursday evening to constantly review the situation. All police stations have already put in place security arrangements and reported details to the higher authorities, they said.
As 43 booths are located in villages where the police had earlier noticed the presence of Maoists, the Thunderbolt commandos are also expected to join duty in some of the shortlisted areas. The details of their deployment have been kept confidential for security reasons.
“Intensified day-and-night patrol has already started covering sensitive areas in Kozhikode rural areas. Control room vehicles with video surveillance options are also part of the fleet,” said a Deputy Superintendent of Police from Vadakara. He also said plainclothesmen deployed in sensitive areas would pass timely updates to the higher authorities.
To ensure a transparent voting procedure, webcasting will be done from all polling stations. A control room at the Collectorate will be monitoring the visuals. District Police Chief (Kozhikode City) Rajpal Meena and Arvind Sukumar (Kozhikode Rural) will visit the booths to directly monitor the security arrangements on April 26.
On Thursday, police escort will be given to poll officials on their way to the assigned polling stations after collecting voting materials from various camps. The entry of the public to polling booths will be restricted after poll officials take over the facilities for making election arrangements.
