Punjab chief electoral officer (CEO) VK Singh on Thursday directed district electoral officers (DEOs) to submit daily reports about the performance of flying squads and static surveillance teams so that the flow of money and liquor could be stopped.
Holding a video conferencing session with all DEOs and senior superintendents of police (SSPs), VK Singh said more than 350 flying squads (three each in 117 assembly constituencies) were operational in the state. He said these should be deployed at various places at random, including information collection centres set up by the excise and taxation department at inter-state borders.
Singh said paramilitary forces deployed for election duty should be used for conducting surprise checks at important places such as bus stands and railway stations.
Interacting with district police chiefs, ADGP CSR Reddy, incharge of election cell, asked them to organise special meetings with their counterparts in adjoining states to check flow of drugs, liquor, and money through inter-state borders. He said 135 locations had been identified for special nakas on the interstate borders. Besides this, the Punjab police would provide 77 companies of the Punjab Armed Police (PAP) to all districts for maintaining law and order. He emphasised the need to speed up the execution of non-bailable warrants in the state. He further directed them to collect information about the non-depositing of licensed arms and made it clear that if licensed arms were found used in any violence during the polls, the SSPs concerned would be held responsible.
Additional CEO Raminder Singh said 3.5 lakh new electoral photo identity cards (EPICs) had been issued after the implementation of the code, which would be distributed soon. Besides this, the Election Commission (EC) has also made it clear that the telecast of films and commercial advertisements involving film actors who were contesting the elections, would not be restrained on TV channels or cinema theatres.
{{/usCountry}}Additional CEO Raminder Singh said 3.5 lakh new electoral photo identity cards (EPICs) had been issued after the implementation of the code, which would be distributed soon. Besides this, the Election Commission (EC) has also made it clear that the telecast of films and commercial advertisements involving film actors who were contesting the elections, would not be restrained on TV channels or cinema theatres.
{{/usCountry}}However, the telecast of feature films (other than commercial ads) would not be allowed on Doordarshan during the period of the enforcement of the model code, considering that DD oordarshan was run on public funds. Additional CEO Supreet Gulati, joint CEO Amit Talwar, and additional excise and taxation commissioner Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon were also present on the occasion.