Telangana assembly elections: Is police 'harassing' common people in the name of Model Code of Conduct?

It is alleged that the police, on the pretext of implementing election model code of conduct has been harassing common people including businessmen by seizing their properties despite production of the valid documents.

Hyderabad: Ahead of the upcoming Telangana assembly elections, police have claimed to have seized property worth Rs 377 crore with common people including businessmen alleging harassment in the name of raids. Since the election model code of conduct came into effect for the Telangana assembly elections scheduled to be held on Nov 30, the police have set up checkposts across the nook and corner of the state in a bid to contain smuggling of unaccounted cash meant to be distributed among voters in lieu of votes.

Sources said that property worth Rs 377 crores worth has been seized by the Telangana Police across the state till Saturday. Although the number is sizeable, it is interesting to note that that none of the properties has been linked to any leading politicians in the state thereby raising a question mark on the police action.

Sources said that the seized property belongs to common people and businessmen. The accused in such cases have criticized the police for harassing the commoners in the name of implementing the election model code of conduct. People have lashed out at the police for carrying out the inspections “merely for magnifying the official figures”.

The businessmen from whom chunks of the properties have been seized are alleging that the police are confiscating cash and jewelry “on the slightest pretext even if they show proper documents”. The victims in such cases have alleged that despite showing the proper documents for small amounts of cash and purchase receipts for routine jewelry, police is seizing them.

Significantly, after the election schedule was announced on the 9th of this month, cash worth Rs136.09 crores, gold ornaments worth Rs162.07 crores, liquor worth Rs 28.84 crores, drugs worth Rs 18.18 crores and other properties worth Rs 32.49 crores were seized in the state as of Oct 28. However, according to the Income Tax Department's figures, only Rs 2 crores have not been unaccounted for in the seized cash.

It is being alleged that in the name of the election code of conduct, police is troubling the common citizens.