A total of 90 companies of security forces will be deployed during the three phases of Lok Sabha elections in Assam even as the security forces engaged in updating of National Register of Citizens (NRC) will not be withdrawn for the purpose of elections.
Assam Director General of Police (DGP) Kuladhar Saikia said this on Monday while interacting with the media and said that the State has already received the 33 companies of additional forces to assist the existing forces in ensuring free and fair polls across the state.
“We have done the deployment as per the requirement to ensure that everyone can cast their votes without any fear. We already have forces including the CRPF and CAPF in Assam and 33 companies of additional forces have reached Assam. Altogether, about 90 companies of forces will be used to ensure free and fair polls across the state in the three phases,” Saikia said.
“However, the deployment for the elections is not going to affect the forces who are engaged in NRC related works. There are specially assigned forces for NRC related works and we are not going to withdraw them for the polls,” he added.
Asked about the poll related violence taking place in neighbouring states, the DGP said that the Assam Police have taken steps to ensure that anti-social elements cannot sneak into Assam to create disturbances.
“I have already spoken to the DGPs in other north-eastern states and expressed our willingness for joint operations in border areas to ensure violence free polls here,” he said adding that special vigil is maintained in railway stations, bus stations and other areas located along the inter-state boundaries to foil attempts of trouble mongers.
“We hope there will be a peaceful election in Assam in all the three phases and we are ready to face any situation,” he said adding that the police are also maintaining strict vigil on social media abuses.
“All the districts police in Assam now has separate cyber crime cell and they have been asked to monitor the social media in the run u to the elections. We have not received any complaints so far,” he said.