Bengal: Record 2,400 companies of security forces for Assembly polls

Kolkata, March 20 (IANS) A record number of 2,400 companies combining personnel from Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), India Reserve Battalion (IRB) and armed police from other states will be deployed in each of the two phases of the forthcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal.

The first phase is scheduled for April 23, and the second for April 29, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Friday night.

The Commission also said the first supplementary list of cases referred for judicial adjudication under the “logical discrepancy” category during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise will be published on March 23, instead of March 20 as initially planned.

Already, 480 companies of CAPF are in West Bengal as an advance deployment.

According to the notification, after polling ends in the second phase on April 29, 200 companies of CAPF will remain in the state for security of EVMs, strong rooms and counting centres until counting is completed.

In addition, 500 companies of CAPF will continue to be deployed until further orders for law and order duties and to prevent post‑poll violence, which was rampant after the 2021 Assembly polls and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The remaining 1,700 companies of CAPF, IRB and state armed police will be de‑inducted after polling concludes on April 29.

The ECI has directed the West Bengal government to prepare a detailed deployment plan in consultation with CAPFs, IRBs, state armed police and the Chief Force Coordinator.

The movement and deployment of CAPFs will be coordinated by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Inspector General Shalabh Mathur, CRPF West Bengal Sector, has been nominated as “State Force Coordinator” for the elections.

The notification added: “Necessary transportation, logistics, accommodation and other arrangements required in connection with deployment of CAPFs/SAPs/IRBs within the state, as per the requirement of the forces, may kindly be arranged by the state government.”

--IANS

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