50 companies of central forces to reach UP by March 25

Lucknow, Mar 13 (UNI) Altogether 50 companies of central forces will be available to Uttar Pradesh government by March 25 for sanitising sensitive pockets before the seven phase assembly polls in the state.

''Out of the total over 650 companies of the central forces to be available to the state for conducting free and fair polls, 50 will reach the state by March 25'', said additional chief electoral officer(CEO) Devesh Chaturvedi.

Talking to reporters here, Mr Chaturvedi said as per a new directive of the Election Commission(EC) all the district returning officers and the police chief have to send weekly report to the commission on regular inspections or raids conducted at the jails so that anti-social elements do not influence the elections.

''The District Returning Officer will be held responsible for any such lapses if any such element is found violating jail manuals and influencing the electoral process,'' he said.

The Additional CEO said the directive has been issued to curb the menance of criminal elements using ultra modern gadgets and meeting people to influence the voters.

In another directive, as was done in Bihar and West Bengal assembly elections, the EC has asked the returning officers to check the Form 17(A) register in such booths as directed by the commission to find out if there is any irregularity during the voting.

The register keeps the signature, name and Photo Identity card Number of each voter who had used their franchise, and it will be checked by the central observers.

UNI