The mandate of the seven Assembly constituencies in and around Calcutta that voted on Saturday is lying sealed in 2,000-odd electronic voting machines (EVMs) that are in safe custody in strongrooms across the city.
The EVMs will be opened three weeks later, on May 2. Till then, the seven strongrooms will remain under 24X7 CCTV coverage and guarded by state and the central forces.
More than 2,300 EVMs were in use in Kasba, Jadavpur, Behala, Metiabruz, Tollygunge and Bhangar on Saturday. They are kept in strongrooms located inside Geetanjali Stadium on Rajdanga Main Road, Bratachari Bidyashram Higher Secondary School in Joka, Vivekananda College on Diamond Harbour Road, Dinabandhu Andrews College in Garia, State Institute of Physical Education for Women in Hastings House complex on Judges Court Road, Sister Nivedita Government General Degree College for Girls in Hastings House complex and Sonarpur Mahabidyalaya in Rajpur, officers of the city police said.
Officers said security at the strongrooms had been stepped up this year because the elections in the city are being held in phases, making it possible to deploy more cops for safe keeping of the voting machines.
“No one other than polling officials, and candidates and their agents are being allowed anywhere close to the strong rooms. The buildings are clearly demarcated so that people can stay away from them,” said a senior officer in Calcutta police.
According to the Election Commission of India’s guidelines, the area just outside a strongroom has to be guarded by 24 armed men of central forces and the “outer perimeter” has to be manned by 16 cops from the state force.
The state police squad includes members of the armed police, a sergeant and two assistant sub-inspectors. It is led by an inspector-rank officer.
A log book is maintained at the entrance of the building housing a strongroom to record details of every person visiting the place.
Polling officials are allowed inside the building to check whether the locks on the strongrooms are in place, Candidates and their chief election agents are allowed till outside the strongroom so they could check the security.
“The arrangement has been made so that no candidate later alleges that EVMs and strongrooms were not well protected,” said a police officer.
The number of strongrooms will increase many times after the seventh phase of elections on April 27.
The locks on the strongrooms will be broken on May 2, in the presence of polling officials and observers, and the EVMs will be taken to the counting centres. “The entire procedure is video-recorded,” an officer said.