Bhubaneswar, March 20: Authorities have launched a drive across the state to execute the pending non-bailable warrants (NBW) against criminals and repeated offenders to ensure a peaceful election.

Besides, those, who have been facing the NBWs for more than six months, would be disenfranchised and their names would be struck off from the electoral list later. As on December 31, 2013, there are 48,500 people against whom the NBWs are pending in the state.

In Bhubaneswar, over 1,900 NBWs are pending, while in Cuttack, around 2,050 such warrants are still to be executed. Police in the twin cities said they had executed over 550 NBWs in the past one month. “We have been conducting drives to execute the NBWs, according to the guidelines and instruction of the chief electoral officer,” said Bhubaneswar deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Nitinjeet Singh.

Sources said the number of the NBWs executed and persons taken into custody in Bhubaneswar was over 200, while in Cuttack, it was over 350. Cuttack DCP Sanjeev Arora said the raids were on and the number would rise in the coming days. “We hope to execute some more NBWs and detain more people with criminal records,” said Arora.

Rourkela has more than 900 pending NBWs. Rourkela superintendent of police A.N. Sinha said they had executed 65 warrants. Besides, the courts have recalled 61 warrants and 89 criminals have been taken into custody under preventive sections, he said.

However, in Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur districts, nearly 7,000 persons facing the NBWs for more than six months will be disenfranchised from the voter list. Sources said that of the registered voters, listed for disenfranchisement, over 1,400 cases involving more than 200 political activists were from the Posco project villages.

In Kendrapara, according to police reports, the NBWs are pending against 3,490 voters. Similarly, in Jagatsinghpur, 2,700 proclaimed offenders have been detected.

Sources said those people, against whom the NBWs had been pending for over six months, would be disenfranchised from the electoral register according to Section 22 of the Representation of Peoples’ Act, 1950. If the police provide report to the district election officers about non-execution of an NBW, it implies that the person, against whom the arrest warrant has been issued, is not available at that particular address. The police and court agencies failed to contact that person concerned for execution of the warrant. In case of the NBWs remaining non-executed for over six months, it means the person is not available despite repeated search. Thus, he would cease to be a resident of the locality from where he is a registered voter.

The district election officer then instructed the electoral registration officer to strike down the names from the voter list. Such persons can neither contest in elections nor vote. However, a senior officer with the chief electoral officer’s office said the disenfranchisement would not be done this time as there was very little time left for the election.