Tight security cover for Amritsar South assembly bypoll

Amritsar, May 21 (UNI) A security blanket has been thrown in an around the Amritsar South assembly constituency where an estimated 1,32,172 electors, including 62,417 females will cast their franchise in the byelection tomorrow.

The bypoll was necessitated following the death of Raminder Singh Bolaria, who had won this seat as a nominee of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-BJP in the assembly general elections in February last year.

The polling will commence at 0800 hours tomorrow and close at 1700 hours in 140 polling stations of the constituency. Votes would be cast through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and around 160 EVMs have been made avaliable for the voting tomorrow. An estimated 500 employees of government departments would be on poll duty tomorrow.

Voting will be through Voter Identity Cards, but in case a elector does not possess this Card, then he or she can use a driving licence or a passport or a ration card or any other authorised document for the voting.

Giving details of the security network, IGP (border range) R P Meena said that the entire constituency has been divided into three sectors, each under a DSP ranking officer. The SP (City-I) will be the overall incharge of the consitituency while the SP (City-II) will look after the security network around the periphery of the segment.

The IGP said that all 140 polling stations had been categorised as sensitive and adequate security arrangements would be made there.

Each polling station would be under the charge of a Sub-Inspector or a Assistant Sub Inspector, depending on the number of polling booths in each station, he said and added eight to ten police jawans would be deployed at each polling booth.

Mr Meena said in addition to the existing police force, around 2000 police personnel including three companies of the Punjab Police Commando battalion have been stationed in the segment to maintain law and order. Two sections of the Para Military Force (PMF) would be stationed at the PBN High School where the counting of votes would take place on May 25.

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