High drama prevailed in the party office of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) in the Andipatti Assembly constituency in Theni district on Tuesday night, when a police officer fired in the air to chase away crowd that allegedly prevented an Election Commission flying squad from entering the premises. Later, paramilitary forces arrived at the spot to strengthen security.
According to sources, a team comprising of flying squad officials and police reportedly seized huge cash allegedly meant for distribution to the voters at the AMMK office. As the news spread about the presence of the officials, scores of cadres and senior functionaries of the AMMK assembled in front of the building.
When the officials stepped out with the seized cash around 8 p.m., there was a scuffle between the cadre and the officials. Police had fire in the air.
Theni District Superintendent of Police V Baskaran, District Revenue Officer R Kandasami and other officials were camping at the spot with a heavy posse of police personnel
Meanwhile, Income Tax officials came to the spot and amidst tight security began counting the seized cash, believed to run into several lakh rupees. An official said, “We have found some cash packets and searches are on”.
