Election officials seized ₹1.34 crore unaccounted for cash from three cars at Jayanagar in the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency on Saturday. They were acting on a tip-off about large sums of money being transported in cars in the constituency. The seizure led to a slugfest between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with both pointing fingers at each other, in the hotly contested seat.
Munish Moudgil, Model Code of Conduct Nodal Officer, Bengaluru Urban district, said while he was at Jayanagar, he received information about the movement of unaccounted for cash and he sent election officials along with the police to the spot before reaching there. At the spot, a man was seen transferring a bag full of cash into a car and when he realised he was being watched, he sped away.
An election official, Nikitha, took a photo of the vehicle and chased the car. The election official and the police later seized the car and cash. Two other cars were parked at the spot at Jayanagar. In all, the election officials found three bags in the three high-end cars. The official had to break a window of one of the cars to seize the bag. The officials also seized the cars and a scooter and registered a case. Five persons involved in transporting the money are absconding.
War of words between BJP and Congress
The incident led to a war of words between the Congress and the BJP. Congress leader and Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the party had no links to the cash. “The BJP which has collected crores of money through electoral bonds is now pumping the same in every constituency. This is the same money which was seized by the officials,” he said. His daughter and former Jayanagar MLA Sowmya Reddy is the party’s candidate in the constituency.
BJP candidate Tejasvi Surya said around 10.45 a.m. his office received calls from three persons informing about transportation of cash in two SUVs. “The informants are those who were forced to give money to the Congress,” he alleged. “Immediately, we notified the police, election officials and election squad. Within 10 minutes the officials rushed to the spot and did the seizure,” he said. Mr. Surya thanked the Election Commission for taking swift action and seizing cash and vehicles. He alleged that the Congress, fearing a loss, was now spending huge sums of money in an attempt to change their fortunes.
