Cameras to be installed in vulnerable areas during polling

One-third booths declared hyper-sensitive; sale of liquor banned from May 4

Central Reserve Police Force personnel taking out a flag march in Basavanagudi on Wednesday. Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Security has been tightened in the city for the Assembly elections scheduled for May 5.

The sale of liquor has been banned from May 4 till the end of elections in and around the city, Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar said.

For each of the 28 Assembly constituencies, an Assistant Commissioner of Police has been appointed as nodal officer to ensure free and fair elections.

The police have identified 276 vulnerable areas across the city and 256 cameras have been installed in these places to ensure that no untoward incidents take place.

Of the 6,200 polling booths, one-third have been declared hypersensitive while another one-third have been declared sensitive.

Central paramilitary forces along with civil police will be deployed at 1,026 cluster polling booths in the city.

At these booths, the police will be provided with the digital cameras to record polling.

Police have taken action on around 2,800 anti-social elements and have warned them not to create any problems during the elections.

Seized

So far, valuables worth around Rs 1.5 crore, including cash and other material, which were being distributed to the public as election inducement, have been seized by the police and election authorities.

Around 8,000 civil police, 35 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) platoons, 3,000 Central Armed Reserve policemen, 700 civil defence men, along with the CPMF will be deployed across the booths.

“All DCPs working in the city will be on duty, and the respective division DCPs have been given charge to make necessary arrangements for peaceful elections,” Mr. Auradkar said.

“If any inconvenience is caused to the public by anti-social elements or political parties, they can immediately call the respective jurisdictional police station or dial 100. We will act quickly,” Mr. Auradkar said.

Apart from the deployment of police at polling booths, a team of sector mobile parties headed by police inspectors/police sub-inspector will be patrolling 15 booths. Around 20 trainee IPS officers would also be deployed to ensure fair polling, Mr. Auradkar added.