Arunachal asks for 60 companies of CPMF during polls

Our Correspondent

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh has requisitioned for 60 companies of Central Para Military Forces (CPMF) in addition to the existing strength of the State police for conducting free and fair elections in the State.

The State is going for simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections on April 11.

According to election office sources here, the State authorities have already placed demand for 60 companies of Central para military forces in addition to the existing strength of State police, CRPF, IRBn and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) to be deployed in 2,202 polling stations spread across 60 Assembly constituencies and two Lok Sabha constituencies in the State.

An additional 20 companies of Central paramilitary forces besides 24 existing companies have been deployed during the 2014 simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the State besides, 8,000 policemen to maintain law and order.

The State has 281 vulnerable polling booths and 662 critical polling stations.

As many as seven security personnel including local police and Central paramilitary personnel, would be deployed in each critical booths, besides deployment of micro observers and video recordings of the polling process wherever necessary, the sources said.

Vulnerable polling stations are those where rigging were alleged during earlier elections and critical are those where violence was reported on earlier polling, the sources added.

During the 2014 simultaneous elections in the State, 90 sorties of helicopters were used to carry the polling teams and security personnel to various polling stations.

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