Putting in place security arrangements for the upcoming election in Bihar, the Union home ministry has ordered for the deployment of about 30,000 troops for election duties, a latest directive said.
According to the directive, the ECI has decided to initially deploy 300 companies in Bihar for area domination to ensure that the assembly polls are conducted peacefully..
Altogether 15 districts of Bihar have been identified as left wing extremism ( LWE) districts of which five districts—Gaya, Aurangabad, Nawada, Lakhisarai and Jamui—are worst affected by Maoists.
People familiar with the developments in the Bihar home department said that altogether 300 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) would soon reach Bihar for initiating area domination and confidence-building measures before the three-phase assembly elections in the state.
The CAPF battalions would reach the state before October 10 and would remain deployed across the 243 parliamentary constituencies till seven days before the polling dates. Sources said the state police headquarters had sent a requisition for 3600 companies of CAPF from ECI to conduct the election smoothly. In the last 2015 assembly polls, the state had got 726 companies of CAPF for conduct of the six phase polls.
The deployment is being seen as a boon for state police to maintain law and order as Durga Puja would also be observed during the election period.
{{/usCountry}}The deployment is being seen as a boon for state police to maintain law and order as Durga Puja would also be observed during the election period.
{{/usCountry}}Altogether 80 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), 50 companies of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), 30 companies of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), 55 companies of Border Security Force (BSF), 70 companies of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and 15 companies of Railway Protection Force (RPF) are likely to reach Bihar.
“Every constituency will get one company. The personnel will stage a flag march in the areas considered vulnerable due to several factors, including for being crime-prone, caste and community sensitive and accessibility,” said the official sources of the home department adding that remaining companies after distributing one to every constituency would be deployed in the Maoist-affected areas as per the requirements for intensive area domination.
“The aim for such deployment is also to build confidence among people and instill fear among criminals and antisocial elements so that polling takes place peacefully and in free and fair manner,” sources said.
“These companies would have no role in maintaining law and order and on voting days. Separate CAPF companies would be brought and deployed for that purpose,” sources said.
The state already has the deployment of CAPF in the form of CRPF and SSB for anti-Maoist operations and guarding Indo-Nepal border. SSB’s 15 battalions are deployed in Bihar, out of which 11 are on Indo-Nepal border and three engaged in anti-Maoist operations. CRPF’s five regular battalions and one and a half battalion of CoBRA commandos are deployed in the Maoist-hit districts of Bihar.
A large count of companies of Bihar Military Police (BMP) would also be mobilized along with CAPF for election, according to people familiar with the developments.