Mysuru:  Even as the countdown for the May 12 Assembly elections is drawing near with just a fortnight away and in the aftermath of the recent clashes in Udayagiri Police Station limits, the City Police are leaving no stone unturned to see that the elections pass off peacefully.

Paramilitary Forces drawn from the Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Rapid Action Force (RAF) started the exercise of instilling confidence among the people to vote freely by conducting a route march yesterday at Mandi Mohalla.

The Police have also decided to conduct foot patrolling and here, the Forces will march in the small lanes and bylanes. “This is the first time that we are taking up such an exercise. In the route march, the Forces will march only on the main thoroughfares of the city, whereas in foot patrolling, Forces will enter the small lanes and bylanes where there is a high density of people. The moment we enter in such small lanes, the people living there will be assured that the Police are there to protect them and then they will have the confidence to exercise their franchise freely,” said DCP Dr. N. Vishnuvardhana, speaking to Star of Mysore, here this morning.   

There are six groups of foot patrolling and each group will have 20 personnel both from the Forces and the city Police. The patrolling will be held from morning till evening in the cross roads, small lanes and bylanes and today it is being conducted in Udayagiri limits, said a source in the Police Department.

Similar route marches and foot patrolling, with gun-toting personnel, will be conducted in different parts of the city in the next ten days to reach out to the people. The purpose of the route march, apart from telling the people that the Police are with them, is also to send a warning message to anti-social elements that the Police will deal with them sternly if they try to disrupt the election process, the DCP said. There are more than 1,000 Paramilitary Forces with each unit consisting of 80-150 soldiers, commanded by a Major or a Captain. The Mysuru Police has a strength of more than 3,000 personnel.