In comparison, the record stood at Rs 76 crore in the full 2014 campaign for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Hyderabad: Out of the Rs 55 crore cash seized by the police since the election code came into effect, only about Rs 86 lakh confiscated in two cases appear to be linked to a political party but more investigations are needed to back it with proof.
In comparison, the record stood at Rs 76 crore in the full 2014 campaign for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections
Additional Director General of Police Jitender, appointed nodal officer for the election, told this newspaper, “A large chunk of the money that we seized is from hawala transactions which was sourced through shell companies. Investigations by the competent authorities like the income-tax department and Enforcement Directorate are yet to establish if the cash was meant for businesses or electioneering.”
He said the money had been deposited with the I-T department which was tracking the source. The I-T department will impose tax and penalty against those to claim the money, The unclaimed money will be deposited in court. Mr Jitender said in the 2014 elections, of the Rs 76 crore seized, Rs 14 crore was deducted as tax and fines.
This apart, 8,100 weapons have been deposited with the police, 60,000 bind -over cases have been registered and 8,700 warrants executed.
On the eve of Diwali, the Hyderabad police based on a specific input seized '7.5 crore cash from two different locations. An investigation by the Enforcement Directorate revealed that a long line of online transactions had been made from a few bank accounts. The source of the money is being jointly traced by the ED and the police. “We are suspecting the involvement of shell companies, the ED is the competent authority to probe,” said Hyderabad police commissioner Anjani Kumar. He said three-fourths of the cash seizures were based on specific inputs received from the people. “The financial players and the flow of money in the Hyderabad market have been tightened,” Mr Kumar said.
Chief Election Officer Rajat Kumar said over '6.66 crore of liquor of worth had been seized, which was the highest yet in an election year.
