Police, DEOs scale up voter outreach in their respective Assembly constituencies
Telegraph | 17 April 2026
The district election officers (DEOs) of Calcutta North and Calcutta South toured their respective Assembly constituencies on Thursday as part of a confidence-building exercise to encourage residents to cast their votes.
Smita Pandey, DEO, Calcutta North, visited parts of Tiljala and Topsia, while Randhir Kumar, DEO, Calcutta South, visited pockets of the Port division during the day.
“The aim is to reassure voters that they need not fear anything or anyone, and that they are free to cast their vote for any political party of their choice without pressure,” said an official involved in the election process.
Senior officers also visited various parts of the city, interacting with voters and sharing helpline numbers they could call if they felt intimidated.
Devendra Prakash Singh, the additional commissioner (I) of the city police, who accompanied DEO Pandey, later met a group of schoolchildren on Park Street and asked them to share the election helpline numbers with their parents for emergency use during the polls. Officers distributed chocolates among the children they spoke to.
Police said 1950 is the voter helpline number that the EC will monitor, while assistance can also be sought from Kolkata Police by dialling 100 or 112.
Other senior officers of the city police, including additional commissioner (V) V. Solomon Nesakumar and additional commissioner (VI) Ashesh Biswas, along with joint commissioners and deputy commissioners, also toured various parts of the city and interacted with residents to bolster their confidence in the electoral process.
Sources said police officers, along with teams of central forces and election officials, will continue these visits across all polling stations in the run-up to the elections, now less than two weeks away.
A senior police officer said it is as vital to engage with voters as it is to send a clear message to troublemakers that they are under surveillance, and that any attempt to intimidate people will invite “severe punishment.”