Noida police conduct flag march in ‘critical booths’, issue red-cards

Police on Thursday conducted a flag march in the areas they identified as containing “vulnerable/critical booths” and met voters in Noida Central and Greater Noida zones, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly election scheduled to begin on February 10, 2022

Police on Thursday conducted a flag march in the areas they identified as containing “vulnerable/critical booths” and met voters in Noida Central and Greater Noida zones, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly election scheduled to begin on February 10, 2022.

Noida Police, along with the personnel of the Border Security Force, conduct a flag march in Noida’s Phase 2 on Thursday. (Sunil Ghosh/HT photo)

The police urged people to participate in the assembly polls without any fear and issued “red cards” to some people warning them against influencing voters.

The Uttar Pradesh assembly election is scheduled to be held from February 10 to March 7 in seven phases. Under phase 1 of the election, candidates are to begin filing their nominations on January 14. The last date to file nominations is January 21; nominations will be scrutinised on January 24, and the last date of withdrawal of nominations is January 27. The Election Commission of India (ECI) on January 8 announced that no political rallies, roadshows, or street corner meetings will be allowed in Uttar Pradesh till January 15.

Elamaran G, additional deputy commissioner of police, Noida Central, said that the police team, accompanied by two companies of Border Security Force (BSF), also conducted an area domination exercise in Noida Phase 2 and Phase 3.

A red card states that police have received confidential information that some people can gather at certain places/houses and influence voters.

“There is enforcement of Section 144 CrPc and you have been issued a red card to ensure your premises are used only by you and your family members. The police and local intelligence unit are keeping a watch on your movement,” it says.

According to district officials, Gautam Budh Nagar comprises 1,623,545 voters – 690,231 in Noida, 586,889 in Dadri and 346,425 in Jewar. There are 1,754 polling booths at 552 polling stations in the district. According to official data, there are 202 polling centres that are categorised as “vulnerable/critical” polling centres.

Kumar Ranvijay Singh, additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP), Noida, said the Noida police had conducted a flag march in Noida Sector 37, Sector 44, Sadarpur village, etc. on Wednesday as well.

“The police have identified some persons with criminal histories. Police teams visited their houses for a search but they were not found. The police team will continue searches in the coming days and arrest anti-social elements before the elections,” he said.

Police also urged people to report violations of the model code of conduct through the c-VIGIL app. The Election Commission of India’s c-VIGIL app allows people to easily file a report by letting users register with their mobile number and then share photos, videos and voice messages related to the violation. The ADCP said the police team will take swift action on these complaints.