A large posse of the police was posted on the SN College campus on Friday, the venue of the SNDP Yogam polls on Saturday.
Security arrangements for the polling will be under the control of the police. Additional Director-General of Police (South Zone) P. Chandrashekaran along with Kollam District Superintendent of Police Harshita Attaluri and other officers inspected the campus in the evening.
They discussed security arrangements with returning officer P. Santosh Kumar and issued some directives. To prevent bogus votes, those who cast their votes will not be allowed into the polling area after voting.
Mr. Chandrashekaran told the media that each voter entering a polling booth would be photographed under the supervision of the police. The photograph would be verified after polling to check whether any voter was photographed twice. He said it was following a government directive that the police moved on to the campus.
“This is with the specific intention of meeting any law and order situation. The government is very particular that the election is conducted in a peaceful atmosphere,” he said.
Both panels in the fray have expressed concern about possible law and order problems at the polling venue, Mr. Chandrashekaran Nair said.
“This is especially because the annual general body meeting of the SNDP Yogam will be held before the elections on the campus. The police role will be to complement the returning officer for conducting a peaceful free and fair poll.”
