The city has come under a security blanket with the police deploying nearly 2,000 men in uniform to ensure a free, fair and incident-free election on Tuesday.
The city has 733 polling booths, and each will have special police officers in addition to normal police coverage. Tight security has been put in place for Electronic Voting Machines.
“We have deployed 37 group patrolling squads comprising Inspectors and Sub Inspectors. This will be in addition to a 23-member squad for ensuring law and order,” said S. Surendran, District Police Chief (Kochi City).
Besides, each police station has a strike force led by Inspectors to attend to any law and order issue. There is also a strike force of the District Police Chief (Kochi City). The entire city has been split into five divisions with an Assistant Commissioner in charge of each division.
There are 20 Assistant Commissioners, 40 Inspectors, 250 Sub Inspectors and assistant sub inspectors, and 1,200 civil police officers, special police officers, and home guards on the field. “We will also be guarding the two counting centres within the city limits at Kalamassery polytechnic and Cusat round-the-clock for the next one month till counting, along with Central forces,” Mr. Surendran said.
Security has been strengthened within the Ernakulam rural limits as well with the deployment of around 2,400 police personnel, including the additional 100 jawans from the Karnataka Home Guards and 30 officials from the Maharashtra Special Armed Police. The rural limits account for 1,518 polling booths spanning across the four constituencies of Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, and Chalakudy.
Sensitive polling booths have been marked out, and additional security personnel have been deployed. A majority of police personnel have been deployed for election-related security duty except a bare minimum number of officials retained for monitoring the routine law and order situation.
“Strict instructions have been issued to officials to keep vigil until the election procedures are over,” said Ernakulam Rural SP Rahul R. Nair. Potential trouble-makers are being monitored by the DySPs concerned.
Additional units of strike forces, flying squads, and patrolling teams have been deployed with DySPs being given charge of six sub-divisions. Besides, separate special strike force units have been deployed.
