Kannur: The Intelligence Department has identified 455 polling booths in Kannur district as sensitive ahead of the upcoming local self-government elections. The report warns of possible law and order issues and calls for heightened security measures in these areas.

According to the report, booths marked as highly sensitive will be barricaded, and paramilitary forces will be deployed to ensure smooth and peaceful polling. Additional police personnel will also be stationed to prevent bogus voting and potential clashes.

Since the local body elections will be held in two phases across the state, the plan includes bringing in police forces from other districts to strengthen security in Kannur.

The report notes that several polling booths in the district have a history of malpractice, including vote rigging and voter intimidation. This time, strict surveillance will also be maintained over booths where an unusually high number of votes tend to go to a single candidate.

Booths identified as highly sensitive are mainly located within Kannur, Vadakara, and Kasaragod Lok Sabha constituencies, covering assembly segments such as Vadakara, Payyanur, Thalassery, Koothuparamba, Taliparamba, Irikkur, and Peravoor. The report recommends deploying Rapid Response Forces (RRF) and CRPF personnel at these locations to maintain order.

Special monitoring will also be arranged for around 30 booths affected by Maoist threats. In addition, CCTV and camera surveillance will be installed in all problem-prone booths to ensure transparency and accountability.

The services of technical assistants from local bodies and Akshaya entrepreneurs will be utilised to assist in these security and monitoring operations.

A trial run of the arrangements will be conducted before the election. To prevent impersonation and fake voting, webcams will be set up in all sensitive booths. Where such facilities are unavailable, the entire voting process will be recorded on video for verification.

The comprehensive measures aim to ensure a free, fair, and incident-free local body election in Kannur district, which has a history of politically charged contests.