JAMMU/SRINAGAR, 1 September — Some 30,000 paramilitary forces and police commandos have arrived in Kashmir to provide security for the state elections starting next month, police said yesterday.

Already 10,000 police officials are providing security to certain "protected persons" including political leaders, bureaucrats, journalists and businessmen, a state police spokesman said.

The new guards will give security to candidates, political leaders and voters.

The elections are taking place in four phases starting Sept. 16.

Security arrangements for the poll will be supervised by the police chief in each district while the security of polling stations will be handed to paramilitary forces, the spokesman said.

The strength of the state police has increased from 23,000 in 1990 to more than 60,000 in 2002, but the state authorities still need additional forces from the central government for the election in the insurgency-ravaged state.

"The challenge posed by separatists and the rebels is enormous when they have announced to wreck the polling," a police officer said. "In the militancy-disturbed areas of Poonch and Rajouri districts, 20,000 men of the paramilitary forces and police commandos have been sent to provide security cover to the candidates and prevent rebels from storming the polling stations," he said.

According to Kashmir’s Chief Electoral Officer Pramod Jain, security forces were deployed in the 26 assembly constituencies 45 days before polling.

"The very purpose of holding the poll in four phases was to allow time to the security forces to cover all areas while voting took place.

"Since the number of candidates is going to be quite big it may be difficult for us to provide foolproof security cover to each candidate and political activists," said a deputy inspector general who did not want to be identified.

He said in the border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, "each candidate has to be provided with more than two security guards besides another three people at his residence."

Eight killed in violence

Meanwhile, eight people, including three members of a family, were killed in Kashmir in fresh rebel violence and artillery firing by Pakistani troops, police said yesterday. Unidentified gunmen shot dead the three family members late on Friday in Udhampur district, 232 km southeast of Srinagar.

"During the intervening night, gunmen barged into a house in Chankote area of Udhampur district and opened indiscriminate fire. The dead include two women," a police official said.

No group claimed responsibility for the killings.

Elsewhere, two suspected militants and two civilians were killed in separate shoot-outs in the region since Friday evening, police said.

A soldier was killed and two others wounded when Pakistani troops fired artillery shells across a military control line that divides Kashmir.

"A soldier, Jaidev Singh was killed on Friday and two others wounded when Pakistani troops resorted to heavy shelling along the LOC (Line of Control) in Uri sector," a police official said.

"Indian troops retaliated effectively. But no exchange of fire was reported today (Saturday)," the official added.

More than 250 people, mostly rebels, have been killed since Aug. 2, when New Delhi announced it would hold state assembly elections in Kashmir in September and October.