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Shortly after former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed the Election Commission has removed Punjab Police and deployed Gujarat Police in the National Capital Territory, top sources in Delhi Police have provided a clarification.
The sources said 220 companies of security personnel were received in Delhi, including those from the CRPF, BSF, SSB, ITBP, CISF and RPF. Further, 70 companies were also deployed from Rajasthan, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh Police. These companies were received in Delhi in three phases, which included the deployment of seven to eight companies of Gujarat Police.
Sources clarified that the deployment came after 250 companies were demanded to maintain law and order as the February 5 Assembly polls near. These companies will conduct tasks like flying squads, interstate border checking, area domination, and security at critical polling stations. Further, they will also serve at counting centres and as quick response teams.
A response was awaited from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh Police, with farmers' protest ongoing in the first two states, while the Maha Kumbh is ongoing in Prayagraj, the sources said.
Mr Kejriwal raised questions on the deployment of eight companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) from Gujarat. The SRPF companies reached Delhi on January 13 as per the order of the Election Commission (EC), Commandant SRPF, Bhachau, Tejas Patel said on Saturday.
Punjab's Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the state police component deployed for Kejriwal's security was withdrawn following directions from the Delhi Police and the Election Commission.
Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi, meanwhile, hit back at Kejriwal over his lack of awareness regarding the poll body's norms. "Now I understand why people call you a fraud. Kejriwal ji, as a former Chief Minister, I'm surprised you're not aware of the Election Commission's norms," Sanghavi stated in his post.
"They've requested forces from various states, not just Gujarat. In fact, the Election Commission of India has ordered SRP deployment from various states, a routine procedure. As per their request, 8 companies of SRP from Gujarat were sent to Delhi for the scheduled election on 11/1/25. Why the selective mention of Gujarat, Kejriwal ji?" he added.
Polling for all 70 assembly seats in Delhi will be held on February 5 and the votes will be counted on February 8.