Seizures made of cash, liquor, drugs worth Rs 209 crore: CEO Anurag Goel

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Chief Electoral Officer, Assam, Anurag Goel, on Monday informed the media that, so far, seizures to the tune of Rs 209.7 crore have been made as part of election expenditure monitoring during the ongoing Lok Sabha election in the state.

The ECI’s expenditure monitoring system is an important part of ensuring that elections in India are free and fair. By monitoring election expenditure, the ECI helps to prevent candidates and political parties from using their wealth to influence the outcome of elections.

The monitoring of the election expenditure started immediately after the notification of the Lok Sabha election in the state.

Revealing details of the seizures made, CEO Goel said, “So far, 19.10 crore in cash, liquor valued at Rs 31.08 crore, drugs and narcotics worth Rs 129.50 crore, and precious metals valued at Rs 28.8 crore have been seized. The total seizure comes to Rs 209.7 crore.”

Regarding violations of the model code of conduct, he said, “As of May 6, a total of 221 cases of model code of conduct violations have been received. Of these, 12 are major complaints. But, till today, 219 of the cases have been disposed of.”

Concerning the law and order front, Goel further said, “The state police have seized a total of 32 illegal weapons and 85 cartridges and explosives till now. There are 18,202 licensed arms in Assam. Of this, 15315 arms have been deposited with the Assam Police. Also, non-bailable warrants have been issued against 1185 persons.”

So far, 10 poll-related incidents have been reported. However, no major incident has been reported  till now, the CEO added.

CEO Goel also stated that phase I and II was peaceful in the state and the voter turnout was above the national average in the two phases.

 Also Read: Lok Sabha Poll: Show of strength by BJP, AGP and Congress in Guwahati (sentinelassam.com)

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