Deploy central police, don’t keep them as reserve: EC

JAIPUR: Amid concerns over security arrangements, the Election Commission has again asked chief electoral officers to use central armed police forces optimally and lay fool-proof blanket of security during the voting.

Observing the state government's tendency to keep central police as 'reserves', EC asked chief electoral officer (CEO) to deploy all central police personnel in election duty. In its orders, it maintained that actually not deploying central police personnel in election related duties defeats the very purpose of augmenting the local forces resulting in sub-optimal benefits.

Central police are made available by the ministry of home affairs to the state government depending on the sensitivity of polling station in the state. EC has also asked the CEOs to prepare a complete state deployment plan taking into account the available forces with them. Based on these plans, a quantum of forces will be deployed in different constituencies.

"State deployment plans will be based on district plans, which will be prepared by the district collector and SPs. Each district has different requirements depending on the number of sensitive polling stations in the constituency," said an official in the Election Commission. "Our plans are almost ready as the final draft is to be shared with Election Commission a week before the polling day," added the official.

For the district level plans, EC has asked all states to ensure that polling stations are covered with adequate static duty forces reinforced by necessary mobile patrolling at the level of zones and sectors. For the identified sensitive and trouble-prone booths other forces like state police and home guards should be deployed in adequate numbers.

Meanwhile, EC has asked that one central police jawan should be stationed at the entrance of the polling station so that he can keep a watch on the proceedings that are going on inside the station. They will be mandated to ensure that no unauthorized person enters the polling station and no irregularity is being committed by the polling staff. The jawan will also ensure that voters are not being bullied or threatened.

Huge security as LS polls loom

Based on the guidelines issued by EC, chief electoral officer, Ashok Jain, has ordered for full proof arrangements of security in the state. He said that to win over the confidence of electors and ensuring free and fair elections, it is necessary to maintain law and order during polls. Along with the security he asked poll officials to check all the EVMs and minimize last moment technical glitches.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/lok-sabha-elections-2014/news/Deploy-central-police-dont-keep-them-as-reserve-EC/articleshow/33467213.cms

EC REMOVES PARAMILITARY FROM VVIP RESIDENCES

Asks Delhi Police to provide security to protected persons

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered the removal of Central paramilitary forces (CPMFs) from the residences of VVIPS in the New Delhi district and has asked Delhi Police to provide security to these protected persons (PPs). Around 1,000 personnel mostly belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were withdrawn on Tuesday and deployed on the poll duty. As a result of the ECI’s diktat CRPF jawans were taken out from the security of at least 67 PPs residing in the Lutyens’ Zone.

This arrangement will be till April 10 when voting takes places in the national Capital for the LS elections. These men will be re-deployed to man the security in and around the residences of the VVIPs but only after April 10. For the time being Delhi Police has been directed to pitch in.

These CRPF personnel have been placed on the disposal of the Delhi Home department and will be deployed in various polling stations in the city. Sources said that the step to withdraw the CRPF personnel from the VVIP security and then deploy them on the poll duty was taken to minimise the posting of Delhi Police personnel in and around polling booths. ECI has ordered the deployment of CPMF jawans along with Delhi Police on the pooling day to ensure that the force behaved impartially and there was no malpractice.

Presence of CPMF personnel is aimed at bringing sanity when Delhiites vote on April 10 to elect seven Members of Parliament (MPs). This will checkmate any attempt to influence the voters once they are inside the premises and also prevent any misadventure if anybody tried to snatch the ballot boxes, the sources added.

A police official said that ECI has sent a communiqué to the Delhi Police officer and asked him to ensure that Delhi Police personnel were posted immediately with the PPs who have been provided security by the CPMF people. Even The personal security officers (PSOs) belonging to the CPMFs have been withdrawn with immediate effect and they have been replaced by Delhi Police personnel.

An official said that these 1,000-odd jawans were imparted training about the electoral process and what they were supposed to do when deployed in and around polling stations. They will be deployed strategically to keep an eye on the imposters and bogus voters and also prevent any unlawful entry inside polling stations.

Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/city/ec-removes-paramilitary-from-vvip-residences.html

In poll season, firsts for CRPF

As more than one lakh troops of the CRPF and other Central armed police forces spread themselves thin to successfully make way for the biggest polling exercise in any democracy in the world beginning April 7, this Indian election season has brought winds of change to the toiling life of the average Indian jawan who has quietly trudged every election summer last sixty years little knowing where his next stop would be, from the cold peaks in J&K to the hot and humid climes of Bihar to down south Kerala.

Speaking to this newspaper, CRPF DG Dilip Trivedi tells how this election journey is different for the less talked about jawan on a day when the Central forces complete the mammoth exercise of deployment across 29 states on Wednesday.

From the traditional cooking on logs of wood as they parked their bogies off railway tracks to cook khichdi, the jawans are being served packed food boxes of the IRCTC at the stations where the trains halt. The CRPF boss said the Indian railways is setting a “world record’’ of sorts as nearly six lakh food packets are being provided daily for the troops movement — which will carry on for the nine-phased election between April 7 and May 12, the highest number of phases for a general elections so far.

For the CRPF, this is a small beginning in the many “firsts’’ to the election journey of its troops. This time round a detailed plan has been worked out by the forces in consultation with the EC and home ministry where each company knows its poll schedule allowing the jawans to prepare in advance, stock appropriate clothing, inform families and break free from a life of uncertainty. For the first time, a Unique Identity Number has been provided to each Central Armed Police Forces company, on the move from any part of the country — to help the district administration identify them and prepare for their arrival and subsequent deployment, pointed out Mr Trivedi who made a detailed presentation to the EC which finally put its stamp of approval to the troop deployment plan which was then shared with all state governments.

The company commanders for the first time have been given exclusive mobile phones with numbers made available to the concerned state authorities for quick liaison, the expenses of which will be borne by the forces.

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In the deep Maoist interiors where the threat is very high, care has been taken to undergo the polling process during the moon-lit fortnight and not the dark fortnight — a lesson learnt after closely observing the challenges faced during Assembly polls in deep interiors of Chattisgarh. The gun-wielding jawan will also cast his vote through postal ballot.

Source:http://www.asianage.com/india/poll-season-firsts-crpf-753