Election Commission seizes Rs 240 crore in cash, liquor

Stepping up its efforts to prevent the use of blackmoney and other means to influence voters during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission has so far seized Rs 240 crore in cash and crores of litres of liquor and drugs.

According to the latest data released today by the poll panel, officials at the ground have seized Rs 240 crore in cash, including Rs 102 crore in Andhra Pradesh, Rs 39 crore in Tamil Nadu and Rs 20.53 crore in Karnataka. The EC said sleuths of various agencies have also recovered illicit liquor to the tune of 1.32 crore litres, besides 104 kg of heroin.

Till April 17, when the fifth phase of polling ended, Election Commission had seized more than Rs 216 crore in cash and above one crore litres of liquor across the country. Till then, maximum cash was seized from Andhra Pradesh (Rs 92 cr) followed by Maharashtra (Rs 24 cr).

The nine-phased elections which began on April 7, will conclude on May 12.

In its effort to curb the use of black money and illegal funds in the elections, the EC has deployed officers drawn from central revenue services like the Income Tax and Customs and Excise departments, in all the Lok Sabha constituencies and state Assembly seats where polling will be held.