About 135,000 police personnel to be deployed

Nearly 135,000 police personnel, including those from the Central Police Force would be deployed to ensure free and fair Assembly polls in Karnataka on May 5, a top police official said on Friday.

"Of the total force to be on duty, 75,000 will be from the state police, 4,500 Home Guards from Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, 1,200 Forest Guards and the rest will comprise the Central Police Force," Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order) Bipin Gopalakrishna told reporters here. The Central force would include Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Force and BSF.

Gopalakrishna said that 9,954 booths have been classified as hypersensitive while 14,209 come under sensitive and 27,287 under normal categories.

The 149 booths located in the Naxal-affected areas would be protected by the Central Police Force, he said. Since the last Assembly polls held in 2008, the number of booths in the state has increased by 6,000, he said.

Briefing about the arrangements till the polling day, the ADGP said 85,338 firearms have been deposited, 580,036 non bailable warrants executed and 21,867 bound over (execution of bond of good behaviour) so far. In all, 132 cases have been registered under the Prevention of Disfigurement Act, 14,221 under section 107 of the Criminal Procedure Code and 4,433 cases under the Karnataka Police Act and Indian Police Act and 515 other cases under the Indian Penal Code and Representation of People's Act, he said.

There are 170 border checkposts and 130 liquor checkposts in place. Apart from these, 120 other liquor checkposts have been set up by the excise sleuths to check illegal transportation of liquor, Gopalakrishna said. Cash seized so far is Rs 7,48,60,275 while Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) seizure stands at Rs 11.50 crore.

The other materials including sarees which have been seized so far were valued at Rs 11.66 crore, he said. On complaints about money being transported in milk vans and ambulances, he said "yes, we have started checking them". To another query, the ADAG said all counting centres will be protected by the Central Police Force.

City Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar said 17,000 state police personnel besides 4,000 from the Central Police Force will be deployed across 6,450 polling booths spread over 28 assembly constituencies in the city. He said sale of liquor has been banned from 5 pm on Friday till midnight of May 5, the pollig day and from 6 am of May 8 till midnight.

"The Congress has conducted negative campaigning unlike our party. We have reached to the people with our achievements," he said.

Asked whether the party is ready for alliance in the event of a hung assembly, Kumar said this time people would give a decisive verdict for BJP. On how big a threat was KJP led by former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to BJP, Kumar said there is a triangular contest in Karnataka. "Our contestants are Congress and JD-S."

In a separate query, the BJP leader said the UPA government should issue a stern warning to Pakistan and revisit bilateral relations with it over the death of Sarabjit Singh after a brutal assault on him in a jail in Pakistan.