Campaigning came to a close in Calcutta at 6pm on Thursday and the city slipped into election mode.

From Thursday evening, certain changes made it evident that the city had entered the last leg of the countdown to the poll day. Police were more in numbers on the roads. Precincts have been sealed off for voting on Saturday and bars announced to customers at the gates that there was no alcohol inside.

Some of the changes were in effect from Thursday evening itself. A section of Calcuttans will feel them from Friday morning till the end of the polling on
Saturday.

Police presence

There were more cops than usual on the roads on Thursday evening. Deployment of around 11,000 police personnel across polling stations in Calcutta started after 6pm.

A joint commissioner of police said all the quick response teams and patrol teams have been activated to make rounds around the polling stations, as told by the Election Commission of India as part of its pre-poll guidelines.

“There will be more uniformed men on the roads. The idea is to ensure no one can be intimidated and everyone should feel safe to step out and vote,” said the officer.

Teams of central forces have been stationed in every police station in the Kolkata Police area and making rounds jointly with the local cops.

Frisking, naka checking

The police said there would be small clusters of cops near polling areas from Thursday. The cops will stop private cars and look out for people carrying unaccounted for cash or illegal arms.

The checks will “intensify” from Friday. “People found near polling stations carrying large sums of money will be questioned about the source and the destination of the cash. If the reply is unsatisfactory, we may arrest the persons carrying the cash,” said an officer at Lalbazar.

Section 144 CrPC

From Friday morning, if more than four persons are spotted within 200m of a polling station, the police and central forces will stop the persons and question them.

“Unlawful assembly of more than four persons will not be allowed as Section 144 of CrPC will be in force around the polling stations.
People may be asked to show their identity documents and if they are found to be residents of some other place, they will be asked to leave the polling area. No one will be allowed within 200m of the polling premises,” said a senior police officer.

Hotels, guest houses

Guests in hotels and guest houses may be asked to show their identity cards and queried about the reasons for their visit to Calcutta. “If someone says he has come for medical treatment but fails to produce any supporting document, the lie would be caught. We will look out for suspicious people who may have come to Calcutta to create trouble during the elections,” said a police officer in the eastern suburban division.

Dry day

The dry day norms kicked in at 6pm on Thursday. Off-shops shuttered down while pubs and nightclubs put up “Dry Day” signage to announce they will not serve liquor.
The ban will be withdrawn after the end of the elections on Saturday.

“The bar was closed but we served food and mocktails. We put up a notice accordingly and spread the word on social media,” said Gaurav Karnani, owner of Grid, a microbrewery in Topsia.

Several clubs displayed the government notification to let guests know that they would not serve alcohol after 6pm.