RAWALPINDI, Aug 24: The police here on Wednesday sought surety bonds of ‘good behaviour’ from the candidates participating in the elections in an attempt to maintain law and order during the second phase of local government polls, official sources said.

The candidates had been called by the SHOs concerned and told to furnish surety bonds, they said. “All the candidates, including nazims, naib nazims and councillors, were summoned by the police to sign a surety bond and if any one of them tried to create law and order situation, he would be booked,” ASP New Town police station Mirwaiz told Dawn.

The candidates have also been asked that they would be held responsible, if any incident took place in their constituency on the polling day, he said.

In line with the IG Punjab’s orders, the police have been keeping a vigil on the candidates and their supporters to maintain peace in the city, he said.

In Lahore, the candidates had been summoned by the police and told to furnish a surety bond ranging from Rs200,000 to Rs1 million depending on their constituency and its sensitivity.

Meanwhile, the deployment of security personnel for election duty have been completed and the ballot boxes have also been shifted to the polling stations.

The police have decided to carry out random checking of vehicles to search illegal weapons, he added.

The army has already been called out in Rawalpindi to assist the law-enforcement agencies. The police have also launched a crackdown on proclaimed offenders and other criminals so that they could not create any law and order problem during the polling process.

A recent incident of violence involving two rival groups in Dhoke Khabba had claimed one life and left several others injured. As many as 17 persons, including MMA MNA Hanif Abbasi, had been booked by the police in connection with the incident.