Kolkata, March 18 (IANS) Ahead of the Assembly elections, the Kolkata Police have intensified measures to ensure strict law and order across the city, with a major focus on identifying and confiscating illegal firearms.

Soon after taking charge as the new Commissioner of Police, Ajay Kumar Nand issued a series of directives to every police station and Divisional Deputy Commissioner across the city. Most significant among these is the mandate to identify and swiftly confiscate all illegal firearms throughout the city before the elections, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said on Wednesday.

According to the officer, specific instructions have been issued to intensify surveillance, particularly in areas identified as sensitive. Police officials have been directed to exercise heightened vigilance in several key regions, including the Bhangar Division. Every police station has been instructed to take proactive action and conduct raids based on intelligence inputs, ensuring that miscreants are denied any opportunity whatsoever to stockpile or utilise illegal weapons.

In this context, Commissioner Ajay Kumar Nand delivered a clear message to the officers that the police administration is unwilling to take any risks in view of the elections.

Acting on directives received from high-ranking officials, the police force across every station in the city -- including the Detective Department -- has already swung into action. Special operations to recover illegal firearms have been launched in various areas.

According to sources, as the night progresses, security checkpoints and vehicle inspections will be intensified at key intersections, as well as at the entry and exit points of the city. Strict surveillance will be maintained over suspicious vehicles and individuals.

According to a section of the police force, the closer the elections draw, the greater the apprehension regarding a potential rise in the use of illegal weapons by miscreants. Consequently, these measures have been implemented as a precautionary step.

Emphasis is also being placed not only on the recovery of weapons but also on identifying potential miscreants and keeping them under close surveillance.

--IANS

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