SHILLONG, DEC 21: The state home department has sought 76 companies of paramilitary forces to maintain law and order ahead of the Assembly elections which are due early next year.
The home department reviewed the security situation in the state and felt about 10,000 paramilitary personnel were needed to maintain the peace before and after the elections, especially in light of the fact as many as 800 out of the nearly 2,500 polling stations have been declared to be either sensitive or hyper sensitive. Most of the sensitive polling stations are in the five Garo Hills districts where militancy is very active. 886 more polling stations will be added to the 1599 stations in the 2008 elections.
State director general of police Kulbir Kishan said the early deployment of the central forces will be of help in carrying out counter-insurgency operations and other security drills to ensure trouble-free elections. However, the final requirement of paramilitary forces, he said, will be decided in consultation with the Election Commission of India and the state government.
Quoting intelligence inputs, the DGP said, the otherwise passive proscribed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), a Khasi militant outfit, was trying to regroup ahead of the polls. “Intelligence inputs tell us that they are trying to regroup. Our men are alert and will thwart their attempts to regroup,” said Kishan. (By Our Reporter)
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