The Election Commission (EC) has asked the Bihar authorities, which is targeting the ballot box, to speed up search and seizure operations to ensure free and fair elections in the Assembly in the state, an official said.
The instructions were issued by the voting panel on Friday during a meeting with observers from the 78 constituencies of the Assembly that will go to the polls in the first round of Bihar’s triphasic elections on October 28, said the Additional Electoral Director. (ACEO) Sanjay Kumar Singh. at a press conference here.
Chief Elections Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora and two other election commissioners, Sushil Chandra and Rajiv Kumar, held the meeting online.
The EC reviewed the general preparations for the survey, be it the issue of training or the provision of facilities for the elderly, Singh said.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha surveys, various agencies seized cash and banned items valued at Rs 35.27 crore in Bihar.
The number is expected to increase further during the Assembly elections, officials said.
Meanwhile, Friday was the last date for the withdrawal of nominations for the third phase of the elections in 78 seats on November 7, Singh said.
Speaking about Thursday’s seizure of Rs 8.5 lakh in cash from a vehicle near the headquarters of the state Congress, Sadaquat Ashram, the official said that “it was not a raid by the Income Tax Department,” but rather spending watchers of the survey panel had received a tip. that money was being taken from a vehicle near Sadaquat Ashram.
Acting on the advisory, a flying squad intercepted and searched the vehicle and seized Rs 8.5 lakh in cash, Singh said, adding that Rs two lakh was seized from a person sitting in the vehicle while the remaining amount was kept hidden in it.
The investigation wing of the income tax department has been informed of the seizure, which will take further action on the matter, Singh said.
Reacting to the seizure of the vehicle, Bihar’s Congressional Officer Shakti Sinh Gohil said: “There was no raid on the congressional headquarters in Patna.” Someone was caught outside on the road leading to the congressional office with two lakh rupees in cash, he said, adding that there were three other people, each with two lakh rupees in cash.
“We have nothing to hide,” said the leader of Congress.
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