Arunachal: Rs 59 lakh cash seized hours after election dates announced

Representation image. File pic

Hours after the announcement of elections, Rs 59 lakh in cash was seized from a vehicle in Arunachal Pradesh's Lower Subansiri district, police said on Sunday.

The vehicle was intercepted near Pine Grove on Saturday evening when it was heading to Kamle district from Ziro, Superintendent of Police Keni Bagra told PTI. He said the cash was seized from one Boa Terry, a resident of Boasimla in neighbouring Kamle district.

The case is being investigated by the I-T Department as the cash was seized after the Model Code of Conduct came into force, the SP said. The northeastern state will vote for its two Lok Sabha seats and the 60-member assembly on April 19.

Announcing the dates for the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said an elaborate security arrangement has been put in place to look after the overall safety of the entire election process.

To hold the elections peacefully, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has ensured that the security agencies deal effectively with four "M"s - Muscle, Money, Misinformation, and MCC (Model Code of Conduct) violations.

He also said that comprehensive instructions have been issued to deal with illegal cash flow, including deployment of expenditure observers, flying squads, static surveillance teams, video surveillance teams, accounting teams, media certification and monitoring committees, etc. The state excise departments have been asked to monitor the production, distribution, sale, and storage of liquor and inducements in the form of free items during the election process.

The Income Tax Department has been asked to activate its air intelligence units (AIUs) at the airports, gather intelligence, and take necessary action to check the movement of large sums of money in all the states.

The CEC said the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed to supplement the local police force in ensuring a peaceful and conducive atmosphere for the smooth conduct of the elections in a free, fair, and credible manner. Based on the assessment of the ground situation, CAPF and State Armed Police (SAP) will be deployed during the elections.

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