With the high-voltage 10-day election campaign coming to an end on Wednesday, the district administration and Pune Police have completed all preparations for polling. A massive security deployment has been put in place across the city to ensure peaceful voting.
More than 12,000 police personnel, ranging from senior officers to constables, have been deployed for election duty. Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said that complete preparedness has been ensured from the law and order perspective. Special focus will be on sensitive and critical polling stations, which will be kept under close surveillance.
To conduct the election process smoothly and peacefully, Pune Police have implemented a four-tier security system at polling booths, involving constables, senior inspectors, assistant commissioners and deputy commissioners of police. Local police stations, along with the Crime Branch, have been put on high alert to prevent any untoward incidents or disputes during polling.
For effective monitoring and coordination, the city has been divided into 454 zones. Senior police inspectors will carry out patrolling in their respective jurisdictions under the guidance of assistant commissioners of police, and regular reviews will be submitted to senior officers.
A total of 3,983 polling booths have been set up across Pune city, with one police personnel and one home guard deployed at each booth, in addition to separate local police security. The polling process will be conducted in 913 buildings, where two police personnel will be stationed at each location. Regular patrolling will also be carried out in the jurisdiction of every police station.
The city has identified 90 sensitive polling locations, where additional security arrangements have been made. At each such location, one officer and five police personnel will be deployed. Eight Quick Response Teams (QRTs) have also been kept on standby. Additionally, six senior-most police officers will be leading striking forces comprising 50 police personnel each.
Under the supervision of the Police Commissioner and Joint Police Commissioner, four Additional Commissioners of Police, 14 Deputy Commissioners of Police, around 7,000 police officers and personnel, 3,000 home guards and four companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) have been deployed. Nearly 500 police personnel will conduct mobile patrolling using four-wheelers, while eight QRT teams will remain active across the city.
