CHANDIGARH, January 19:
To ensure Drug-free and other inducement-free Assembly Elections in the state, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Dr S Karuna Raju said that various Enforcement Agencies have recovered Rs 1.74 crores cash, 27960.292 litre of licit liquor, 6476.61 litre of illicit liquor, 235069 litre of Lahan (raw material used to make liquor), 1088.01 Kg of Poppy Husk, 11.03 Kg of Opium, 3370.82 grams of Heroin, 123.507 grams of Smack, 2940 capsules, 90 vials of syrup and 92079 numbers of tablets since Model Code of Conduct has come into force.
On security point of view, he said that as many as 2268 Route/Zone Patrolling teams, 740 Static Surveillance Teams, 792 Flying Squads and 351 Video Surveillance Teams have been deployed in the state to keep vigil on inducements including drugs.
He informed that the state has already received 50 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) on the directions of Election Commission of India (ECI), while 25 more companies are expected to arrive soon.
He said that these companies, comprised of personnel from CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB are already making area domination exercises at Indo-Pak border adjoining areas, in big cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar. Besides this, 28 Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officers, one each in district including in police districts, have also been deployed to keep vigil on drugs and narcotics smuggling, he added.
Dr Raju said that the Punjab Police along with these personnel are leaving no stone unturned to ensure free, fair, secure and inducement-free elections.
