20 Additional Companies Of Paramilitary Forces Deployed For 3rd Phase Of Elections In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Police is all geared up with massive deployment of forces to ensure “peaceful, successful, and free & fair” elections in the state on May 25.

Briefing media on the security arrangements, Director General (DG) Police Arun Kumar Sarangi said total 35,000 state police and paramilitary personnel will be deployed to maintain law and order in six Lok Sabha and 42 Assembly segments under 12 police districts during third phase of the simultaneous polls.

For the elections in 10,551 booths located in 7,646 locations, 121 companies of paramilitary forces, 106 platoons of Odisha Armed Police and 19,865 civil police forces have already been deployed. Besides, 43 Additional SPs, 95 DSPs, 238 inspectors, 2160 SIs, 10, 212 armed and unarmed constables and havildars, 7,117 home guards and grama rakhis have been deployed.

Around 20% booths have been identified as sensitive during this phase of elections and the police were reassessing the sensitivity regularly, he added.

Five young IPS officers of ASP rank have been deputed in Sambalpur, Khurda, Keonjhar and Cuttack. While each Assembly segment has been divided into two parts and a DSP placed in charge of the security arrangement there, an Additional SP rank officer is in charge of security arrangements for all Assembly segments. They will be supported by 42 Assembly Supervising Officers of Additional SP rank.

Sarangi informed that Odisha had sent 1,200 Home Guards to Chhattisgarh for first phase of elections there. Chhattisgarh has now sent 300 constables and 700 home guards. Following completion of elections in neighboring states, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has also provided 20 additional companies of paramilitary forces to Odisha.

“Eighty-four DSPs, two each for one Assembly segment, 231 Sector Officers in the rank of Inspector, one to half section of CAPF in all sensitive booths, 763 mobile parties, 331 flying squad teams and 343 state surveillance teams have been deployed,” Sarangi said.

Besides special state police observers, ECI has deputed one police observer for each Lok Sabha constituency. Further, 17 Inter-State Border Check Posts – 17 with CCTV cameras, 116 intra-state border check posts and EVM Strong Rooms – have been set up at 25 locations which are being guarded round the clock by CAPF and SAP in a two-tiered security system.

Every district has a social media monitoring cell set up by the police and at the state level, a social media monitoring and cyber security unit is functioning under the supervision of IG of Police CID-CB. Until now, 145 social media-related complaints have been received and 394 contents removed while 843 social media handles are under surveillance. Cases have also been registered against five while one person has been arrested.

Since January this year, Odisha Police has executed 34,403 warrants, declared 4,000 persons as proclaimed offenders and arrested more than 1,000 persons. Likewise, 1,283 history sheeters/absconders have been arrested, 11 have been booked under NSA and 254 illegal arms, 143 cartridges, 119 bombs and 1,534 other explosives seized. Three illegal arms manufacturing units were also busted, police sources informed.

Among other things seized as part of election security measures since January include 6,78,547 litre of illegal liquor, 843.23 quintal of ganja, 5 kg of brown sugar and 4,507 litre of cough syrup.

Over Rs 89.3 crore of illegal items have been seized after enforcement of Model Code of Conduct (MCC), informed police sources.