Congress president Rahul Gandhi will file his nomination papers for the Wayanad parliamentary constituency in Kerala on Thursday and police have put in place elaborate security arrangements in the district.
The police have maintained high confidentiality over the deployment of forces for his visit, especially owing to Maoists presence in various parts of the district.
According to the tentative programme, Mr. Gandhi will land in Kozhikode on Wednesday night. His helicopter will land at the SKMJ high school ground in Kalpetta on Thursday around 10 a.m. and he will file his nomination papers after participating a road show in Kalpetta.
The Special Protection Group (SPG) has taken over the security of the ground and nearly 1 km distance from the road show to the Collectorate.
It is expected that AICC secretary Priyanka Gandhi will also reach Kalpetta in the day. Earlier it was reported that Mr. Gandhi will address party leaders in Kalpetta but the programme had been cancelled owing to security reasons, sources in the party said.
Vehicle inspection
Police have intensified vehicle inspection on the Kerala-Karnataka and Kerala-Tamilnadu border areas. ''Thunderbolt'', the commando force of the Kerala police, has been deployed.
Sources in police said Gyurmed Dorja, Assistant Inspector General, SPG, held an advance security liaison meeting with senior officials of various department, including the police, Public Works, Health and Fire and Rescue Services in Kalpetta two days ago. Mr. Dorja, along with a contingent of SPG officials, inspected the temporary helipad on the SKMJ High School ground and a trial landing of a helicopter on Wednesday .
Balram Kumar Upadhyay, Inspector general of Police, Thrissur range, also held a meeting with senior police officials on Tuesday.
Published - April 03, 2019 04:29 pm IST
