Ready and equipped to ensure safe polls: Mumbai Police

Looking forward to the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Mumbai Police have claimed that they are ready and well equipped to handle any sort of crisis during the polls and for the same, the officers are in the process of implementing necessary security measures to ensure that voting is carried out peacefully. Different departments and units of the police department have been beefed up to help the forces take adequate preventive measures for hassle-free elections.

Mumbai, which is about to witness polls across a total of six constituencies with over 7,471 polling centres and about 10,000 polling booths on April 29 will also see a huge deployment of cops until the polls are officially concluded.

"After the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates and phases of voting, we started step-by-step implementation of security measures so that no loopholes are left from our side. Since the Lok Sabha election occurs once in five years, it requires systematic planning, sufficient and efficient manpower, and also a simplified approach to deal with nuisances, if anything is reported. We can say that over 60 per cent officers working with the force are currently engaged in the election process and we are also planning to deploy more forces as the polls approach," said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, Manjunath Singe.

According to the police, the roles and duties of the force is different before and after a particular candidate files his/her nomination to contest elections. "The protocol of the police varies according to the nomination filing process and once that exercise is done, we can say exactly how many officers shall be deployed at the polling stations and booths and it shall be done on looking at the requirement of a particular constituency. We are in the process of identifying criminals and are also trying to intensify the detection rates so that future possibilities of any nuisance is nipped in the bud. The ECI is happy with the way Mumbai Police is operating and we shall continue to deliver the best," said a police officer on the condition of anonymity.

Also, the Anti-Narcotic Cell (ANC), Social Service Branch (SSB), Cyber Cell, and Crime Branch have already started raiding places falling into their respective domains and to bust cases and apprehending the accused. The police are monitoring activities closely to prevent any act of terrorism.

Police officers have been instructed to not take unauthorised leaves amidst election duty. "Some cases which include maternity leave for the women staff or any other medical emergency shall be considered but those skipping their duties shall face action. In order to leave no discrepancy, we shall take all possible steps to ensure polling takes place without any disturbance. Any miscreant, if caught doing mischief, shall be penalised under relevant sections of the law," added Singe.

HERCULEAN TASK

• Mumbai is about to witness polls across a total of six constituencies with over 7,471 polling centres and about 10,000 polling booths on April 29 
   
• Different depts and units of the city’s police have been beefed up to help the forces take adequate preventive measures