No state police at booths in Bengal

Kolkata, Mar 29 (UNI) The Election Commission has decided to deploy Central Para Military Force in all the polling booths during the coming Assembly elections in West Bengal while keeping the state police outside for escorting election materials.

'' The CPMF personnel will be posted at the gates of the polling booths and police will escort EVMs and other materials, besides discharging other duties, '' Chief Electoral Officer(CEO) Debasish Sen today said.

Altogether 60,000 Central forces will be deployed in the state during the elections to be held in five phases between April 17 and May 8.

The CEO, however, denied reports appearing in a section of the press that prohibitory orders under section 144 Cr P C would be promulgated within 200 metres of polling booths. '' So far the EC has not issued any such directive and the report is baseless, '' he said in a rejoinder.

Reacting to the EC's move to entrust greater responsibility on the CPMF, Left Front Committee Chairman Biman Bose said law and order was a state subject and the CEO should explain whether the decision would encroach on the state's jurisdiction. '' Law and order is absolutely a state subject. We must know whether this is going to be curbed by any decision of the EC. The CEO should explain what will be the jurisdiction of CPMF and the state police, '' he said in reply to a question.

Mr Bose, however, said sometimes in the past, CPMF personnel were deployed at polling booths and the EC decision was ''all right'' if either force did not encroach on the area of the other.

UNI KDG SJC VD HT2235