Cops beef up security post Dantewada incident

Kothagudem: The police were on high alert in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district post the Maoist attack on BJP MLA's convoy killing him in Dantewada of Chhattisgarh State on Tuesday.

"The entire police force in the district are on high alert and are fully ready to ensure peaceful conduct of polling on April 11," Kothagudem Superintendent of Police (SP) Sunil Dutt said.

He said nearly 2,500 police personnel and officials would be engaged to ensure smooth conduct of polling. He added there were 198 polling stations affected by left wing extremism (LWE) and of them, 155 were in Bhadrachalam constituency limits in the district.

"Efforts are being made to prevent Maoist activists from Chhattisgarh entering Kothagudem. As many as 300 security personnel are deployed along the border villages in Cherla and other mandals. 15 to 18 Maoist activists have been taken into custody in the last couple of weeks. Based on the intelligence information, steps to prevent any untoward incident during the polls are taken, Dutt informed.