Elaborate arrangements are being put in place for the June 27 by-election in the Aruvikkara Assembly constituency, with over 2,200 security personnel to be on the field on poll day.
There will be 154 booths on 153 premises, with a building at Paranthodu having two booths in one building. From among these, the Thiruvananthapuram Rural police led by K. Shefeen Ahamed, Superintendent of Police, have classified 25 premises as sensitive.
These were classified as sensitive based on previous poll records, current trends, and local factors, Mr. Ahamed said, adding that the police were in the process of reviewing the present situation. If need be, more premises would be classified as sensitive and security enhanced.
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There would be booth patrol vehicles, all with video cameras, stationed at each of these 25 premises, while 22 police vehicles would be moving around the constituency. Border sealing parties, police pickets at all major junctions, and deployments at each of the polling premises too would be part of the arrangements, Mr. Ahamed said. Striking force parties too would be ready, he said.
Seven Additional Circle Inspectors, along with 2,200 personnel, would be in charge of the law-and-order situation on poll day, with three companies of the Border Security Force, with around 250 personnel, already reaching here, to reinforce the security. Police were keeping an eye on the bordering areas of the constituency to prevent flow of illicit liquor.