Kolkata: The Election Commission (EC) has seized Rs 54.87 lakh in cash from four persons in Jaigaon area in West Bengal's Alipurduar district so far before the Lok Sabha polls, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Basu said on Monday.
The seizures were made by the state police and flying squads, he told reporters here.
"The EC has seized 59 arms, 235 ammunition, besides 6757 kg of ammonium nitrate and 2676 kilograms of gelatine stick powder from various areas of the state, where the seven-phase general elections are slated to begin on April 11. It also seized 3782 litres of liquor, 366 litres of country spirit besides cough syrup," Basu said.
"The EC would conduct awareness programme on EVMs and VVPAT in all the polling booths across the state on Tuesday. Alternative identity cards cannot be used to cast vote", he added.
Basu said that that the EC had received 361 complaints through National Grievance Service, out of which 287 had been resolved, 486 complaints from the citizens directly out of which 437 were resolved. It had also received 1139 complaints through the cVIGIL app and action had been taken on 677 of them.
With the first phase of elections to be held on April 11 in the Coochbehar and Alipurduar parliamentary constituencies of the state, March 25 would be last date for filing nomination, 26 March as the date for scrutiny and March 28 as the last date for withdrawal of candidature, he said. Seven expenditure observers of the EC have already arrived for poll purposes, Basu added.
(With inputs from PTI)
