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Chandigarh police battalions manned booths in Nuh district
Besides the state police and the border security force, five companies of the Indian Reserve Battalion of Chandigarh police were also stationed at polling booths
Besides the state police and the border security force, five companies of the Indian Reserve Battalion of Chandigarh police were also stationed at polling booths across the Nuh district on Monday. With 90 personnel in each company, a total of 450 officers were deployed to man booths across the Nuh district.
Constable Surinder Singh, who was posted at the Government Middle School, Nakanpur, in Punhana district, said that the teams had been given strict instructions to ensure that no non-voters go inside the polling booths.
“Our job is to ensure that voting takes place freely inside the booth, without any disruption from intruders. Even we are not allowed to enter the booth unless and until the presiding officer places a request in writing,” Singh said.
He added that teams of the Indian Reserve Battalion of the Chandigarh police had earlier been roped in for the maintenance of security in Uttar Pradesh during the Lok Sabha polls this year, and for Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan state elections prior to that.
Khadija, 68, said that unlike the last polls, she found the security officials to be cooperative. “The queues were more organised and only one or two people were allowed to go into the room where I cast my vote. The officer also asked me to jump the queue a when he saw that I was old,” she said.
At the Government Senior Secondary School in Mahu, Ferozepur-Jhirka, the police had a tough time dealing with some unruly voters. “We have been posted in several other states before this, but the crowd here has been the most difficult to manage,” a constable, who didn’t wish to be named, said.
The border security force was seen stationed at some vulnerable booths like Luhinga Kalan in Punhana.
Pankaj, deputy commissioner, Nuh, was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts.
