More than Rs 1 crore seized in Puducherry

PUDUCHERRY: Ahead of the Assembly polls,

unaccounted

cash to the tune of Rs 1.10 crore, including Rs 65 lakh suspected to be meant for distribution to voters, was seized in two different places in Puducherry on Thursday, officials said.

A team of Income

Tax

officials seized Rs 65 lakh from the premises of a private firm following a raid conducted based on a tip-off. The cash was suspected to be used for inducing voters, Deputy District Election Officer M Thillaivel said.

In a release, Thillaivel said the

election authorities

and I-T department have intensified steps to prevent hoarding of cash without documents in houses or business firms in and around Puducherry as part of efforts to prevent malpractices.

In another seizure, members of the Static Surveillance team of the election department recovered Rs 45 lakhs from a car coming into Puducherry from neighbouring Tamil Nadu. The occupants of the car did not have any documents for carrying the cash and an investigation has been launched by the police.

Assembly elections in Puducherry are slated for May 16, while the results will be out on May 19.