By IANS,
Patna : The police in Bihar have started a drive to book “trouble-makers and habitual offenders” ahead of the general elections next month, a police official said here Saturday.
“The police headquarters has issued instructions to all the district police chiefs to book trouble-makers, including criminals and habitual offenders, ahead of the elections,” a police official told IANS here.
The district police have also been asked to prepare a list of trouble-makers, he added.
The state government went on the drive early this month after an Election Commission directive to ensure violence free polls in the state.
“The police have seized 55 illegal weapons, 523 cartridges and unearthed 12 illegal gun factories,” Additional Director General of Police Neelmani said.
He said 12,900 non-bailable warrants, issued by different courts, have been executed and more will follow in the coming days.
However, police sources said that about 53,000 non-bailable warrants were pending in different police stations across the state.
Elections in Bihar have witnessed violence and booth capturing in the past.
In 1999 Lok Sabha polls 74 people were killed. About 20 people were killed in 2004 general elections and a staggering 158 people during the 2001 panchayat elections.