A policeman on duty at a polling booth

Jamshedpur, March 29: For the first time, policemen on poll duty in East Singhbhum will be able to exercise their franchise — in the general elections next month — through a postal ballot system.

The office of the superintendent of police today initiated steps to ensure that the constitutional provision of postal ballot for police personnel on duty did not remain a mere theory here.

The district police have already written to the deputy commissioner-cum-district election officer for making Form 12-A available to those police officers who want to cast their votes. Besides, the district election office has also been intimated to issue a special voter list.

Superintendent of police Naveen Kumar Singh said that about 330 police officers and over 2,000 constables and havildars were posted in the district. He added that although there was a constitutional provision allowing government officials, including police officers on election duty, to exercise their franchise through postal ballots, this had never been put into practice in the district before.

Singh maintained that a policeman could not be considered outside the system of forming a government. Being a citizen of India, he or she had the right to exercise franchise through postal ballots.

“Enabling a policeman to use his franchise thus is a lengthy procedure, the initiative for which has to be taken at least one month before the polling date,” Singh said.

In accordance with the norms, Singh said he had already urged the deputy commissioner-cum-district election officer to prepare a special voter list. “The officers concerned will have to apply for postal ballot so that the necessary arrangements at the district election office level can be made,” he added.

Singh said that many police officers had their names on the electoral roll in other districts. Earlier, they were deprived of the opportunity to vote. But with the postal ballot system in place, they can participate in the polling.