Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi today assessed the law and order situation and poll preparedness of the constituencies which will have polls on April 18. In the first phase,polls will take place in 54 constituencies,spread across six districts in north Bengal. Zutshi,in-charge of the state elections,landed at Bagdogra airport today morning and held meetings with officials of Darjeeling,Jalpaiguri and Coochbehar. On Monday,he will visit Raiganj,Malda,Murshidabad and Krishnanagar. The main objective is to review the final poll preparations. He would look into the implementation of non-bailable arrest warrants,seizure of illegal arms and ammunition,preventive arrests and seizure of illicit liquor, Joint CEO Dibyendu Sarkar said. Sources indicate Zutshi has expressed satisfaction over the overall law and order in the three districts,with the magistrates and police chiefs of which he met today. The EC has decided to keep 250 companies of central paramilitary forces deployed in the state,even after the last phase of elections are over on May 10. These forces will be posted in the state till the declaration of results on May 13,to check any kind of post-poll violence.
