Poonch (Jammu and Kashmir), Apr 14: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has beefed up security in Poonch ahead of the five-phaseD general elections beginning from April 16.

Soon after the announcement of the election dates, the Election Commission (EC) had said there would be a massive deployment of security forces across the region during the polls.

According to the CRPF Commandant and the District Nodal Officer for election security, S. S. Sidhu, the CRPF has taken all necessary security measures to ensure fair and safe elections in the region.

"We have made all the security arrangements for the polls. We have also identified some areas where the possibility of some anti-national elements cannot be ruled out. Since Poonch is a border area, we will deploy our troops along the Line of Control (LoC) as well. We have made all the arrangements to ensure fair and safe elections in Poonch," Sidhu said.

He further informed that around 20 companies of the CRPF and another five companies of the Border Security Force (BSF) have been deployed at various locations in Poonch. (ANI)