400 CAPF companies to remain the state until June 19 to curb post-poll violence

New Delhi. Nearly 400 companies (over 40,000 personnel) of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) will remain deployed in West Bengal until June 19 to contain post-election violence, as per reports.

The CAPF companies in the state include personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

“The ongoing deployment of 400 CAPF companies in West Bengal aims to establish area dominance, build confidence among citizens, and ensure a peaceful environment while maintaining law and order in the state,” said officials requesting anonymity according to media reports.

For free, fair, and peaceful general parliamentary elections in West Bengal, where polls were held in separate phases, the Centre had deployed over 900 companies (90,000 personnel) of CAPF in the state.

The Election Commission had sought 920 CAPF companies for West Bengal, followed by 635 for Jammu and Kashmir, where Lok Sabha elections were held for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

Additionally, 360 CAPF companies were sought for deployment in Chhattisgarh; 295 in Bihar; 252 in Uttar Pradesh; 250 each in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Jharkhand; 200 each in Gujarat, Manipur, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu; 175 in Odisha; 160 each in Assam and Telangana; 150 in Maharashtra; 113 in Madhya Pradesh; 100 in Tripura; 95 in Haryana; 75 in Arunachal Pradesh; 70 each in Karnataka, Uttarakhand, and Delhi; 66 in Kerala; 57 in Ladakh; 55 in Himachal Pradesh; 48 in Nagaland; 45 in Meghalaya; 17 in Sikkim; 15 in Mizoram; 14 in Dadra and Nagar Haveli; 12 in Goa; 11 in Chandigarh; 10 in Puducherry; five in Andaman and Nicobar; and three in Lakshadweep.