Seizures made by Karnataka EC officials crosses Rs 400 crore

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: As of April 22, the amount of seizure made by the Election Commission (EC) officials in Karnataka stood at Rs 403.40 crores, the report shared by the EC on Monday said.

The seized valuables included unaccounted cash, precious metals without bills, narcotic drugs, alcohol and other items.

According to data provided by the EC, a total of 1975 FIRs have been registered across the state in connection with the cases of valuables seized by the Static Surveillance Teams (SST) and the police officers ahead of Lok Sabha polls 2024.

The report said 23,522 cases have been registered under the Karnataka Excise Act and 1,739 vehicles were seized.

While 2,781 cases have been registered under serious offences sections under the Excise Department, 4,155 cases have been registered for lack of proper documents.

With strict vigil, the SST and the police officers have seized 132.86 crore worth of cash, alcohol, drugs and gifts since the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was placed in the state on March 16.

The Excise department has further seized 176.90 crore worth Alcohol and drugs. A team of officials attached to the Revenue department have confiscated precious metals including gold and diamonds worth Rs 13.80 crores, the report said.

Valuables including gold, silver and gifts seized by the Commercial Tax department officials amounts to Rs 79.84 crores.

A police team from Byappanahalli Police Station recovered Rs 46.25 lakh worth cocaine, Ecstasy tablets in CV Raman Nagar in Bengaluru.

On Sunday, an FIR was registered against BJP Office Secretary Lokesh Ambekallu and two others for illegally carrying Rs 2 crore cash in a car, the office of the Chief Electoral fficer said.