Director General of Police (DGP) Prakash Mishra accompanied by senior police officers on Thursday reviewed security arrangements of western range police at its headquarters in Rourkela for the elections on April 10 and 17.
Mishra said police stations along border and the areas hit by Left Wing Extremists (LWEs) would be given special attention during elections. In remaining areas, adequate police deployment would be made to maintain law and order.
The Maoist infested border areas of Rourkela police district and those of Jharkhand, where six companies of CRPF are deployed, would get additional three companies of Jharkhand Armed Police (JAP) on poll duty on April 10.
The border pockets of Sundargarh police district would be provided two additional companies of Central Armed Police Force(CAPF) and Keonjhar police district, which already has four companies of CRPF, would get two more companies of CAPF for second phase polls on April 17, Mishra informed.
The DGP also said vulnerable polling booths in LWE-hit areas would be additionally equipped with mobile patrol parties, static surveillance squads and Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel.
Mishra was flanked by Special DGP (Headquarters) Sanjeev Mareek, Additional DG (Law and Order) Bijayanand Jha, IGP (Modernisation) Sanjeev Panda, IGP (Operation) Soumendra Priyadarshi and IGP (Western Range) RK Sharma at the meeting.
Rourkela SP Amitendra Nath Sinha and his Sundargarh and Keonjhar counterparts also attended the review meeting. Later in the day, the DGP left for similar exercises in Sambalpur and Talcher.
Sambalpur: Addressing mediapersons here after reviewing poll preparedness in police districts under northern and north central ranges, Mishra said their prime objective was to provide security to voters and contesting candidates.
He informed that 50 companies of additional security forces will join the existing forces in the State for the conduct of free and fair elections. After deployment in different areas during the first phase of elections, the forces will be moved to areas where the second phase poll will be held.
Mishra said police have already started holding discussion with their counterparts in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to guard the boarding areas.
The police administration has requested the Central Government and the Election Commission to provide three choppers during the first phase poll and there is no requirement of chopper in the second phase poll, the DGP added.