Assam Assembly polls: Rs 12 cr, 8 lakh litres of liquor seized

Authorities have seized 7,85,633 litres of liquor from various parts of the state since the polling dates were announced on March 4.

Guwahati: With Assam going for the first phase Assembly poll tomorrow, around Rs 12 crore of cash and nearly 8 lakh litres of liquor have been seized from across the state by the authorities since election dates were announced on March 4.

"As a result of vigorous check, we have been able to seize cash worth Rs 9,92,09,575 since the announcement of the polls. Along with these around Rs 2 crore have been seized separately by the Income Tax department. So the total cash seizure is around Rs 12 crore," Assam Chief Electoral Officer Vijayendra told a press conference here.

Along with the cash, authorities have also seized 7,85,633 litres of liquor from various parts of the state since the polling dates were announced on March 4," he said.

He said, 26,067 licensed arms out of 29,021 have been deposited as per procedure to conduct the elections.

"Along with these, 166 illegal arms and 538 ammunitions have been seized by security forces," he added.

The Election Department has identified a total of 34 expenditure-sensitive constituencies and 401 expenditure- sensitive pockets across the state.

It has formed 396 flying squads across 126 Assembly constituencies, comprising magistrate, police personnel and videographer, for tracking illegal cash transactions and liquor distribution to "influence voters".

The Election Department has also set up 378 static surveillance teams in the state, besides 126 video surveillance teams, consisting one officer and one videographer, have been raised to cover important events like meetings, rallies and processions.

A total of 46 expenditure observers have been deputed by the Election Commission to ensure that money does not play a role in influencing voters.

Further, the Income Tax Department has formed six Air Intelligence Units in airports across Assam to check any inflow of illegal cash into the state.