Officials asked to enhance vigil before polls in Punjab

Punjab's Chief Electoral Officer VK Singh on Saturday directed district officials to enhance vigil in the state 48 hours before the polls began on April 30 for the 13 Lok Sabha seats.

Singh asked all District Election Officers and district police chiefs to lay sufficient 'nakas' besides making the flying squads and static surveillance teams more pro-active to respond immediately in case of any complaint to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in Punjab.

As two-thirds of the elections had been completed, the state would be under constant focus of the media due to the high-stake battle in certain Parliamentary seats, Singh said at a meeting with DEOs and district police chiefs via video conferencing, according to an official release here.

He asked the district police chiefs to ensure utilisation of all central paramilitary forces as per the directions of the Election Commission and also told the DEOs to watch out for any 'paid news' cases.