Hyderabad: The flow of huge cash just before the Telangana assembly is keeping cops on their toes. Within four days of the announcement of the fixture of the assembly elections, cops seized cash worth Rs. 37.07 crores during inspections. As of Thursday, Rs 20.43 crore in cash, Rs 14.66 crore worth of gold and silver, Rs 89 lakh worth of drugs, Rs 87 lakh worth of liquor stock, and Rs 22.51 lakh worth of goods meant for distribution to people were seized during the inspections.
The seizure came to light after an official statement was issued by the ECI CEO's office. During the 2018 elections, a total of Rs 98 crore worth of cash, gold, and liquor were seized during the inspections.
All the political parties in the state are allegedly spending money extravagantly in order to influence votes, sources said. The Central Election Commission asked state officials to crack down on elements who are involved in cash distribution.
As a result, the authorities are conducting extensive inspections across the state. The office of the CEO stated that inspections were conducted in 89 inter-state borders and 169 areas of the state. At present 1,476 inspection teams are functioning in the state. these include 373 flying squads, 374 regionally concentrated teams, and 729 immediate response teams.
The office of the CEO said as part of the implementation of the election code of conduct, government campaign flexi and hoardings installed on 75,226 structures were removed. Cases have been registered against 1,196 people under precautionary measures. The Election Commission has allocated 100 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) for election security in the state. Each company consists of 80 armed policemen. Officials said that these forces would reach the state by October 20.
