New Delhi   

Police chalk out security plan for polling day

By Devesh K. Pandey

NEW DELHI, MAY 1. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls in the Capital, the Delhi police have identified about 200 hyper sensitive and sensitive booths and prepared a list of over 200 ruffians who would be a potential threat to the law and order situation during polling on May 10. The police have chalked out an elaborate security plan to ensure free and fair elections.

It is learnt that over 40 booths across the Capital, most of which fall under the jurisdiction of West, South, North-West, East, Central and North-East Delhi, have been identified as hyper sensitive. Of these, 13 are in West Delhi, eight in South Delhi, four in North-West Delhi, four each in East and Central Delhi and three in North-East Delhi. Besides, around 160 other booths - of which 30 are in North-West, 27 in East, 23 in North-East, 22 each in South and Central and 21 in West Delhi, -- have been termed sensitive.

All these booths fall in areas like Ballimaran and other places in the Walled City; Jamia, New Friends Colony and Okhla in South Delhi; Mangolpuri, Jahangirpuri and other border areas of North-West Delhi; Nangloi, Narela and Patel Nagar in West Delhi; Najafgarh in South-West; and Bhajanpura and Seelampur in North-East Delhi.

The police are understood to have prepared a list of around 200 ruffians and goonda elements who might create disturbance during the elections. Several of them are attached to political parties and have a history of making inflammatory speeches to encourage violence during the elections.

Of these, 32 are from West Delhi, 31 from Central, 26 from North, 11 from South, and five are from South-West Delhi.

To curb the anti-socials, the police had started a vigorous campaign, mainly against bootleggers. Over 3,000 people with criminal background, of whom around 1,000 have been arrested under the Excise Act, have been arrested so far. While a close watch has been kept on all the "akharas" in the Capital, more arrests and detentions in this regard are likely in the coming days. On polling day, apart from about 56,000 Delhi police personnel, over 10,000 police personnel from Uttar Pradesh would be deployed in and around the booths.

Interestingly, the police have also prepared a detailed list of over 250 builders and property dealers who are actively involved in election campaigning from different parties. Some of them are suspected to be providing funds to their respective leaders as well and hence they are being kept under close watch. Meanwhile, the police have till now registered about 500 cases under the West Bengal Prevention of Defacement of Property Act.

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