DGP reviews security arrangements for panchayat polls

Odisha Director General of Police K B Singh today reviewed the security arrangements in the southern districts of the state for the panchayat polls which will be held in five phases from February 13.
"I have instructed the police authorities of all district under southern division and officials concerned to be more vigilant to meet any sorts of situation during the three tier Panchayat election, particularly in the Maoists infested districts and inaccessible pockets," Singh told reporters after the meeting.
According to Rabindra Nath Sahoo, the secretary of State Election Commission, of the total 8491 hyper sensitive booth identified in the state, 1076 such booths are located in Kandhamal district alone.

Stating that the police is committed to handle all situation and eventualities to ensure a free and fair polls, the DGP said steps are being taken to strengthen the intelligence network to avoid any unlawful activities by left wing forces.
The meeting was attended by IG (Operations) R P Kocche, DIG Special Intelligence Wing Narasingha Bhol, IG (Southern) Amitav Thakur, Kandhamal SP Pinak Mishra, Boudh SP B Gangadhar, Gajapati S P Sunil Panigrahi, 127 Battalion Commander G Kumar, 8 Battalion Deputy Commander Pankaj Dwibedi and several other senior police officers.