About 10 lakh voter slips carrying All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam symbol were seized in a vehicle check by a static surveillance team near Nagamalai Pudukottai in Tirupparankundram Assembly constituency on Wednesday night.
Officials said that the voter slips, printed in Chennai, were being transported to Theni district for distribution, prior to the May 16 elections. As per Election Commission of India norms, issuing of voter slips by political parties is banned. They will be issued by the authorities alone. The vehicle and the slips were later taken to the Nagamalai Pudukottai police station. A case was registered against the driver and two other persons who were present in the vehicle.
Apart from printing of voter slips itself being a violation, Superintendent of Police Vijayendra S. Bidari said that using the vehicle for election-related work without obtaining prior approval was also an offence. He said that the men were booked under Section 171H of the IPC that deals with illegal payments in connection with the election. They were also booked for violation of model code of conduct under Section 188 of the IPC that deals with disobedience to order promulgated by authority.
