Chandigarh, March 17 (IANS): A day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced dates for the general elections, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on Sunday said the police is geared up to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections.

The DGP accompanied by Special DGP (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla virtually briefed all senior police officers from headquarters to take stock of the security arrangements.

Polling in Punjab will be held in the last phase of polls on June 1.

DGP Yadav directed all the officers to strictly adhere to all aspects of the Model Code of Conduct and follow all the instructions and guidelines from the Election Commission for holding free and fair elections.

He said a special campaign has been launched to arrest Proclaimed Offenders (POs) and parole jumpers and for the execution of Non-Bailable Warrants (NBWs). The Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) and the Commissioners of Police (CPs) have also been asked to ensure surveillance over people indulging in selling illicit liquor and narcotics and psychotropic substances, he added.

The DGP also directed them to ensure the deposition of weapons.

Sharing more details, Special DGP Shukla said security has been beefed up across the state and field officers have been asked to carry out an audit of the police force and muster 75 per cent of the police force for deployment during elections.

All the CPs and SSPs have already been asked to keep vigil around the anti-social elements and carry out flag marches in their jurisdictions to build confidence among the general public, he added.

He said the checking at inter-state borders has been intensified to check the movement of criminals, bootleggers and drug smugglers.

Twenty-five companies of central armed police forces (CAPF) have been deployed in vulnerable districts to instil confidence among the public as well as to dominate sensitive and hyper-sensitive areas in the state, he added.