No crowd within 100m: Ludhiana DM’s security orders for UPSC exam

Ludhiana: District magistrate Himanshu Jain has imposed Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, around all 14 examination centres in the district to ensure the peaceful conduct of the UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination on Sunday, May 24. The prohibitory orders ban the assembly of four or more people within a 100-metre radius of the venues from 12 midnight until 8 pm on the exam day.

The restriction will not apply to candidates appearing for the exam, authorised invigilators, and officials deployed on election duty. DM Himanshu Jain stated that the proactive measure aims to eliminate unlawful assembly, public nuisance, unfair practices, or any activity that could compromise the integrity of the prestigious examination.

A total of 4,353 candidates are scheduled to write the exam across the district. The preliminary test will be held in two separate sessions: Paper-I from 9.30 am to 11.30 am, and Paper-II from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm.

To prevent cheating and digital malpractices, the administration has installed electronic jammers at all designated venues. Security will be tightened with the deployment of adequate male and female police personnel tasked with strict frisking at every entry point.

The examination will be held across prominent schools and colleges in the city, including DCM Presidency School (Jamalpur), MGM Public School (Dugri), Bhartiya Vidya Mandir (Kitchlu Nagar), RS Model Senior Secondary School (Shastri Nagar), and Govt College for Girls (Rakh Bagh), which includes Sub-Centre A.

Additional notified venues include SCD Govt College (spread across Old Building Block-A, PTA Building Block-B, and PG Building Block-C), SDP College for Women (Daresi Road), Khalsa College for Women (Civil Lines), Malwa Central College of Education for Women (Basant City), School of Eminence (Model Town), and Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College’s MBA Block (Gill Road). The District Magistrate has appealed to the general public to cooperate with the law enforcement teams and strictly adhere to the traffic and security protocols throughout the day.