225 companies of Central forces to be deployed, 95 seats sensitive: UP Police

The state police also said that it had identified 95 “sensitive” Assembly seats where extra precautions would be taken, and added that there were 29,138 critical polling booths. Extra forces will be stationed in constituencies in the districts of Chandauli, Sonbhadra and Mirzapur where Maoists are said to be present.

Additional Director General (ADG, Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said directions had been issued to the police to follow the directives of the Election Commission since the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) had come into effect with the announcement of the poll schedule on Saturday. The police have set up an election control room to communicate with the polling body.

Kumar said the physical verification of all polling booths was over and preparations for crowd management at the booths were being made. Each police station in the state would maintain a register on election-related details, he added.

To stop incarcerated criminals from trying to influence elections, the police have installed 2,676 CCTVs and 271 jammers at different prisons. The police and the state prison department are also preparing a list of criminals who could attempt to influence the elections. The police had identified 869 criminals in various prisons for close monitoring, said Kumar, adding that they had also put together a list of 16,237 “troublemakers”.

The ADG (law and order) said 107 international and 469 interstate barriers had been set up to stop criminals from other states and countries from entering Uttar Pradesh. These barriers are being monitored round-the-clock, including with the aid of CCTVs, according to the police.

Following telephone network problems, the police have decided to use satellite phones at 456 polling booths in 11 districts. They will use boats and tractors to reach the booths located at places with poor connectivity. The police have also decided to use drone cameras, video cameras, portable CCTVs, riverboats during the polls. The C-Plan and UPCOP apps will be used to communicate with the public.

The police claimed that since September 30 they had seized over 7,000 illegal weapons, busted 58 factories manufacturing country-made firearms, registered 5,399 cases under Arms Act, and arrested more than 5,000 people in connection with these cases. They also claimed to have acted on 58,650 non-bailable warrants.

During this drive, seven lakh people were asked to submit sureties for ensuring peace, while more than three lakh licensed weapons were seized for allegedly violating norms. The police said instructions had been issued to conduct verification drives at shops licensed to sell firearms.

The ADG said that in this period the police and the Excise Department opened 31 outposts at national and international borders to prevent the transportation of illicit liquor. The police said more than five lakh litres of illicit alcohol were seized in this period while 1,451 spurious liquor manufacturing units were busted. The authorities registered 20,262 cases under the Excise Act these past few months while more than 21,000 accused were arrested in connection with these cases, the police added.

Kumar said the police had decided to complete the Covid-19 inoculation of all police personnel on a priority basis. Anti-Covid kits containing masks, sanitisers, and other items would be provided to personnel on election duty, the ADG said, adding that booster vaccine doses would also be provided to them if instructed by the government.