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At its peak, a staggering 2,400 companies of armed personnel drawn from CAPFs, state armed police, and India Reserve battalions had been deployed for election duty
The remaining 400 companies are expected to be withdrawn in subsequent phases, subject to ground assessments. (ANI)
With law and order in control across West Bengal after the state assembly elections, the Union government has initiated a phased withdrawal of the 500 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) that had been retained in the state for post-poll security duties.
As per sources, according to an official communication issued last week, a total of 500 CAPF companies comprising CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB had been ordered to remain deployed in West Bengal until further orders, specifically to maintain law and order in the post-election period.
Following a review of the prevailing security positive situation in the state, the Centre has now decided to draw down these forces in a calibrated, phase-wise manner. Close to 100 companies are being de- inducted. The development comes on the heels of what was the single-largest security mobilisation ever witnessed for an assembly election in independent India’s history. At its peak, a staggering 2,400 companies of armed personnel drawn from CAPFs, state armed police, and India Reserve battalions across 21 states and Union Territories had been deployed across West Bengal for election duty.
The scale of the operation had been extraordinary on every count. Five Director General-rank officers heading the CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, and SSB had personally camped in West Bengal, leaving their New Delhi headquarters for days to oversee ground-level coordination—an unprecedented step that underscored both the sensitivity of the polls and the government’s resolve to ensure peaceful voting. Nearly 4,000 bulletproof and Quick Response vehicles had been deployed across the state, and daily situation reports were filed with the MHA every morning by 10am.
The effort appears to have paid off. Poll violence was reported to be extremely low, and the security establishment has since assessed that conditions are sufficiently stable to begin scaling back the post-poll presence in a structured manner.
The remaining 400 companies are expected to be withdrawn in subsequent phases, subject to ground assessments.
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