Director-General of Police G.P. Bhola Nath has denied the charges that security had been withdrawn for Tamil Nadu Ministers.
After reviewing the security in view of polls in districts of Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri here on Monday, the DGP said that proper security had been provided to all leaders who were carrying on the election campaign. A police team led by a sub inspector and three armed constables had already been provided to these leaders. “But now the three armed constables have been replaced by three paramilitary personnel. The security to the leaders has neither been increased nor decreased. Security has been given to the leaders based on their threat perception and security classification,” he said.
DMK Chief M. Karunanidhi at the recent election meeting at Salem had charged that police had withdrawn security for DMK Ministers, including Veerapandi S. Arumugam and M K. Alagiri.
The DGP further pointed out that the assault case relating to Mr. Alagiri in which he was given an anticipatory bail would have to be dealt with by the local police. “I have not received any complaint in this regard. You can ask the local police,” he further claimed.
Security in place
Talking to reporters in Coimbatore, he said all security arrangements were in place for the conduct of smooth and peaceful elections and people can exercise their franchise without any fear.
Adequate precaution was taken to conduct vulnerability mapping for identifying the sensitive and non-sensitive areas. Additional reinforcements had been sourced from the Central Paramilitary Forces.
When contacted, Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) K. Radhakrishnan said that in addition to the nearly 1 lakh police personnel available with the Tamil Nadu Police, 200 companies i.e., 15,000 personnel from the Central Paramilitary Forces were being drafted for poll duty.
Total election code violations recorded in the State was 4,539.
