BENGALURU: One of the most used signals of

is set to be proscribed in and around polling stations.

“Don’t raise your hand with the palm open to stop the public at polling booths,” senior officers have told policemen on poll duty. The open palm of the hand is the symbol of the Congress and the model code of conduct makes it clear that symbols of parties cannot be exhibited at polling booths.

Police officers in Bengaluru are educating subordinates about the various dos and don’ts during election time. The Bengaluru city police commissioner’s office has prepared a five-page handbook explaining what the police should and shouldn’t do before the elections, on polling day and later. Inspectors will soon forward a copy to the cellphones of all policemen.

The curb on the stop sign is not in the handbook, but officers said police have been issued a general instruction to avoid body language that could spark off controversy.

Assistant commissioner of police, Mico Layout, B Jagannatha Rai said he has asked his subordinates to follow teh rules stipulated in the booklet and too avoid any body language that could be contentious.

“Because the hand is the symbol of a political party, if a policeman uses an open palm to halt someone, it could be used to spread a false campaign on social media,” another police officer explained. “We have conducted classes at each station to instruct policemen about what to do and what to steer clear of during election duty.”

Poll duty for policemen also includes keeping an eye out for troublemakers with a history of taking control of polling booths, threatening voters or casting proxy votes.

According to the booklet, policemen must prevent anyone trying to bring voters to polling booths or attempting to distribute money on the day of polling.

“Policemen should arrest any person if there is any direction to the effect from the presiding officer at the polling booth. Police should not enter the polling booth unless the presiding officer summons them,” the booklet says.