Assam: PCC chief Bhupen Borah's PA Detained for Carrying Over Rs 5 lakh in Cash
11 April 2024 11:06 AM GMT
Assam PCC chief Bhupen Borah's PA Detained for Carrying Over Rs 5 lakh in Cash
Guwahati: Amid the charges and counter-charges of violation of Model Code of Conduct, a flying squad of the election commission on Thursday said that they have apprehended one Jintu Hazarika, the personal assistant to the President of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), Bhupen Borah, for carrying cash beyond the permitted limit.
He was apprehended in Lakhimpur. He was found in possession of cash amounting to Rs 5 lakh, 81 thousand. Officials said that they suspect that the cash was to be used in election related activities, possibly for handing out to people to lure them to vote for the party.
In yet another crackdown in Assam's Karimganj, over Rs 22 lakhs was seized from a vehicle intercepted at a checkpoint.
Officials said that Rs 22,95,500 was seized from the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle tried to flee but was caught after the police chased him down.
The accused was identified by the police as Abdus Sabur. He was detained by the authorities who took him in for questioning in connection with the matter.
Meanwhile, Congress MP and Lok Sabha candidate from Nagaon, Pradyut Bordoloi, has lodged a complaint against Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with the Election Commission, accusing him of flouting the model code of conduct. In his letter to the EC , Mr Bordoloi alleged that the Assam CM earlier in the day promised to transfer Rs 10,000 to the bank accounts of ration card holders during a rally in Lakhimpur, calling it a “blatant” violation of MCC.
“...Such promises are not only unethical but also an attempt to influence voters through financial inducements, thereby compromising the integrity of the electoral process,” read the letter from Mr Bordoloi to the chief election commissioner.
He urged the EC to investigate the matter thoroughly and take appropriate action against Mr Sarma for his “misconduct”.
Mr Bordoloi, who filed a total of eight poll code flout complaints before the EC in the first week of his official campaign, asked “How free & fair are elections in the world’s largest democracy?”
In another complaint to the CEC, Mr Bordoloi alleged that the government is continuing distribution of forms for socio-economic survey, promising financial benefits even when MCC is in force.
Despite receiving a show-cause notice from the Assam CEO on April 6 regarding electoral inducement, Mr Bordoloi said that the government has continued to distribute forms for conducting a socio-economic survey, vowing to include beneficiaries under the ‘Orunodoi’ cash direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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