ver 1,500 government employees on Tuesday threatened to skip poll duty in the Raiganj Lok Sabha seat if central forces were not deployed at each booth, with many of the staff walking out of pre-election training sessions to make the demand. The 1,500 staff make up around 15 per cent of the 10,000 required for the 2,000-odd booths. The protesters have cited the case of a teacher found dead under mysterious circumstances during last year’s rural polls in which he was a presiding officer.

Govt staff seek central force shield for poll duty