Around 1,500 troublemakers have been arrested as the Election Commission began preparations to hold peaceful, free and fair elections to the 142 Assembly segments spread across seven south Bengal districts on Wednesday.
“The way troubles were created in several parts of North 24-Parganas, Hooghly and East Burdwan from Sunday night, it seems that arresting the troublemakers could be the only option to hold the polls peacefully, like it was done in the first phase,” said a source on the poll panel.
According to reports, the majority of the arrests were made in East Burdwan (479), followed by North 24-Parganas (319) and South 24-Parganas (246).
An EC source said that the way violent incidents occurred in the poll-bound districts from Sunday night, the figure could go up manyfold.
“We had anticipated that there would be more troubles in the second phase, as polling would be held mainly in urban areas. In the past, it was witnessed that more poll-related clashes and troubles had taken place in the urban areas. We are initiating all possible steps to make the elections violence-free,” said a pollpanel source.
According to the plans, the EC was set to give more freedom to the central force jawans to tackle gatherings outside the 100-meter radius of polling booths.
“It was witnessed in the past that the main problem in the districts that would go to polls on Wednesday was intimidation of voters on the road approaching the booths. The central force jawans would be in all such areas known for such irregular activities,” said a source.
Apart from this, more CCTV cameras would be installed on the approach roads to the vulnerable booths.
“More quick response teams would be deployed in these areas so that the central force jawans can reach the spot at the earliest in case of any trouble. The EC has also taken steps to ensure that no false vote is cast in the name of companion voting,” said another official.
The EC has also noticed that the use of improvised firearms and crude bombs during elections was a regular feature in this part of the state during the elections.
“This is why raids to recover illegal firearms and crude bombs were carried out soon after the elections were declared. Regular raids and arrests of criminals in the trouble-prone areas have reduced the pre-poll clashes in these areas, barring some incidents on the last day of the campaign,” said a source.
The police have seized 348 illegal firearms and 1,137crude bombs in the raids.
Moreover, 10,364 explosives of various kinds were also seized so far, making the EC hopeful of holding a trouble-free poll in the second phase.