The Election Commission is looking into the supply of 13 brand new Bolero vehicles to political party workers in Sindhudurg, the home base of a powerful Maharashtra leader.
The vehicles were supplied on a down payment of just Rs. 74,000 each when the Bolero costs over Rs. 8 lakh, a probe conducted by the Income Tax Department has found. The agency started probing the matter when it found that all the vehicles had been supplied on a cash payment to a Mumbai car dealer two weeks ago.
“The dealer said the broker arrived with cash to make all the down payments. The delivery was made on such a low payment since the owner of the car agency knew the broker well,” said sources in the IT Department.
The Sindhudurg police have also probed the matter and submitted a report. “We found that the vehicles were purchased and registered in the names of political party workers. They were supplied on the very same day. We have shared the information with the Income Tax Department,” police sources said.
“Buying the vehicles is not an offence. However, the question is whether the vehicles will be used for election purposes, of which we have no evidence so far,” the police added.
