M A I N   N E W S

MC ELECTIONS
Poll panel orders deployment of CRPF
Tribune News Service

Jalalabad (Ferozepore), March 7
The state Election Commissioner, Mr C.L. Bains, today ordered the Deputy Commissioner to transfer the Station House Officer (SHO), City police station, and directed the Chief Secretary, Punjab, Mr Y.S. Ratra, to deploy personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Abohar, Fazilka and the town for maintaining law and order situation on March 9, when the polling for the municipal council elections will take place.

The Election Commissioner also directed the Chief Secretary to post an SSP-rank officer to supervise law and order situation in the Jalalabad, Fazilka and Abohar areas during the elections. He said the directions should be executed immediately so that people’s confidence in the police administration was restored and peaceful elections were assured.

Mr Bains pointed out that the commission took the decisions as there were a large number of complaints that free, fair and peaceful elections were not going to take place.

The observer appointed by the commission, Mr P.S. Aujla, had also brought into the notice of the commission after making a preliminary tour of areas that at least one SP-rank officer of outside Ferozepore district should be posted here to supervise the law and order situation in the areas.

Mr Bains said that he had directed Mr Raminder Singh, Deputy Commissioner- cum-District Electoral Officer, for transferring the SHO, city police station, which was necessary to gain the confidence of the electorate and general public which was badly shaken as a large number of fax messages and complaints had been received. Meanwhile, former Chief Minister and president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Parkash Singh Badal, who visited the town today afternoon to instil confidence into SAD-BJP workers, warned the police and civil officials, who had allegedly been committing atrocities on the candidates of the SAD-BJP alliance and their supporters. He alleged that prominent SAD-BJP workers and kin of candidates were being booked in false criminal cases.

Mr Badal said if the Congress leadership was trying to install its own men on various posts by hook or crook then it should nominate those persons instead of conducting elections.

Mr Prem Valecha, president of the local municipal council, alleged that some Congress workers with the help of the police had been harassing the SAD-BJP alliance candidates and implicating their kin and in criminal cases. He added that the district police authorities and other civil officials had been approached time and again and an appeal was made to them to intervene in the matter. He alleged that the entire police and civil administration had become a mute spectator towards the atrocities being committed on SAD-BJP workers.

Mr Raminder Singh, Deputy Commissioner, when contacted for his comments on the transfer of the SHO, City police station said the SSP could tell the latest position in connection as power to transfer the SHO lied with him. He, however, added that the orders of the state Election Commission could not be defied by anyone. He claimed that no violence would be allowed during the election process.

Mr Parveen Sinha, SSP, when contacted, said as SHO, city police station, was already on leave, so he had transferred the Additional SHO by assuming the fact that the orders of the state Election Commission were for the transfer of the same.