NEW DELHI: Central forces deployed to provide security during the forthcoming assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir are being prepared to tackle the “worst” kind of crisis or attacks, the chief of country’s largest paramilitary CRPF said here today.
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General Dilip Trivedi, however, ruled out the possibility of any “big” incident happening in the state during the five-phase polls scheduled to begin on November 25.
“As far as our task is concerned, we are taking no chances. We have asked our troops to be prepared for the worst case scenario. My view is that we do not anticipate any big thing (disruptive activity like attacks) during the polls,” Trivedi told reporters here on the eve of the forces’ 75th Raising Day.
Trivedi added that despite this analysis they were not taking away the fact that there may be “very high-level attempts” to disturb the polls in J&K.
The DG, whose force is the nodal agency for deployment of all central forces in J&K, said the Assembly polls in 2002 when the PDP came to power, was a “watershed”.
“We recently conducted both assembly and general elections in Chhattisgarh and I don’t think the forthcoming J&K polls are as tough as this Left Wing Extremism-hit area,” he said.
The force has close to 60 battalions (about 60,000 personnel) in the interiors of J&K for security duties and in view of the upcoming polls, the Central Government has sent in a total of 381 companies of various central forces including BSF, ITBP, CISF and state police reserve units to the state for poll-related duties. The CRPF has the largest numbers in this pool with 111 companies.
One company of these paramilitary forces has close to 100 personnel. (AGENCIES)
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