Pre-election cash, gold seizure in Telangana crosses Rs 400 crore

Hyderabad, Oct 31 (IANS) The seizure of cash, gold, liquor and other items in Telangana ahead of the November 30 Assembly elections crossed Rs 400 crore value mark on Tuesday, officials said

During the 24-hour period ending 9 a.m. on Tuesday, enforcement agencies seized cash, gold and liquor worth over Rs.16.16 crore.

With this, the total seizure since October 9 has gone up to Rs 412.46 crore. This is said to be the highest in the country during such a short period.

During the entire poll process in the 2018 elections in Telangana, the total seizure of cash and gold was only to the tune of Rs 103 crore.

The enforcement agencies had started the checking on October 9 when the model code of conduct came into force with the announcement of poll schedule by the Election Commission. During the 24 hours period, more than Rs 5.60 crore cash was seized. The total cash seizure has now gone up to Rs 145.32 crore.

According to the data released by the office of Chief Electoral Officer, precious metals worth over Rs.2.76 crore were seized between 9 a.m. October 30 and 9 a.m. October 31.

The enforcement agencies have so far seized 251 kg gold, 1,080 kg silver, diamond and platinum all worth more than Rs 165 crore.

Authorities also continued their crackdown on the flow of liquor.

During the 24-hour period, liquor worth Rs.4.17 crore was seized, taking the cumulative seizure to Rs.39.82 crore.

The state and central agencies have also seized 80 kg ganja and 115 kg NDPS. The total seizure rose to 5,163 kg ganja and 1,041 kg NDPS, all worth Rs.22.31 crore.

The authorities have also seized 1.56 lakh kg rice and other items worth over Rs.39.98 crore.

The elections for 119-member Assembly will be held in a single phase on November 30.