Rs 18 cr worth items seized by electoral officials

B D Narayankar reports

Bangalore, April 12 (PTI) Items worth Rs 18 crore, including Rs 8.76 crore in cash, suspectedly meant to be used for wooing voters have been seized from a private financer's house in Bellary. 

Officials of the district administration, Income Tax Department and Election Commission also seized Kisan Patras worth Rs 4.3 crore and another Rs five crore worth uncashed cheques from the office and residence of Babulal Parashuram Puria in Bellary yesterday, Officer on Special Duty for State Election Commission Ponnuraj told reporters here. 

The squad also seized jewellery and gold biscuits, he said, adding a case has been registered under 171-E (punishment for bribery) of the Indian Penal Code. 

Officials have taken control of a godown belonging to Babulal on the outskirts of Hospet town, he stated. 

Ponnuraj said Income Tax Department had taken cognisance of the matter and are working on two-pronged action -- to track the source of money and decipher the trail of fake currency, if any. 

At the same time, Election Commission officials raided a shop belonging to one Vikram Jain in Hospet and found Rs 1.2 crore. On further investigation they recovered another Rs 22 lakh stashed in a car parked at his residence, Ponnuraj said. 

In other raids carried out across the state, the officials seized Rs 2 lakh, Rs 7 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore in cash from Humnabad, Bangalore district and Devanahalli near Bangalore, respectively, Ponnuraj said. 

Near Gollahalli checkpost in Nelamangala, Rs 1.23 crore in cash was also seized and another Rs 4 lakh was seized in Hoskote taluk, Ponnuraj said. 

So far, a total of Rs 10.32 crore in cash has been seized from Bellary district and from Bangalore Rs 3.36 crore, he said. 

Interestingly, no cases have been so far registered in Yadgir and Gulbarga districts, Ponnuraj said, adding that 45,138 litres of liqour worth Rs 2.72 crore have been seized till date.