Bangladesh Police have taken comprehensive security measures for the national election considering past experiences as per the government directives and suggestions from different stakeholders, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam said on Tuesday.
He made the remarks at a press briefing held at the Police Headquarters Media Centre on Abdul Gani Road in the capital.
The IGP said all necessary measures have been taken from the police side to ensure that voting is held in a peaceful and festive manner.
He said static police forces will be deployed at all 42,779 polling centres across the country.
Besides, mobile police teams will be responsible for patrol and management while striking police forces will be deployed at various locations to deal with any emergency situation, said the IGP.
About the use of technology in election security, the IGP said, under the initiative of the Election Commission, CCTV cameras have been installed in about 80 to 90 percent of polling centres through returning officers.
From the police side, body cameras will be used at risky polling centres.
Besides, superintendents of police will use drone cameras available to them based on capacity and necessity.
The IGP said a total of 157,805 police personnel will be engaged in ensuring election security.
Of them, 93,191 will be deployed as static forces at polling centres while the rest will perform duties as mobile and striking forces, he said.
Apart from this, 29,798 police personnel will remain deployed at police stations across the country for various election-related support activities.
A total of 187,603 police members will be deployed under the police security plan, IGP Baharul said.
He also said that following the directive of the Ministry of Home Affairs, licensed firearms are being deposited.
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So far, 27,995 licensed firearms have been submitted to police stations.
Besides, members of the army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Ansar will also take part in ensuring election security, he said.
Ansar is the largest contingent deployed for election duty, numbering around six lakh members, he added.
Coordination and control of all forces are being carried out through the offices of returning officers and assistant returning officers.
Referring to the overall situation since the announcement of the election schedule, the IGP said that some tension and violence are seen every year during elections.
According to police statistics, from December 11 to February 9, a total of 317 violent incidents occurred across the country, leaving 603 people injured and five killed.
“We consider even a single death unfortunate. We always try to ensure that no death occurs. Still, throughout history, every election in our country has seen casualties. This time, we made our utmost efforts to reduce such incidents as much as possible,” the IGP said.