Joint teams from the police and revenue departments conducted a raid on the garage of a car showroom here on Sunday and seized cash in huge sums ranging up to Rs 1.5 crore.
The cash was suspected to have been hoarded in the garage allegedly meant for distribution to voters ahead of polling as an inducement. According to a senior police officer, a good number of fake notes were also found to be mixed in the bundles containing original currency in different denominations. Additional Superintendent of Police N. Chandrasekhar said a case was registered against the dealer of the showroom and his associates.
He refused to divulge information on the involvement of political leaders, saying “We cannot reveal the names of leaders and the parties they are associated with until the investigation is over”. Meanwhile, a large number of personnel were deployed to count the money which was going on till late in the night.
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The authorities are yet to come to grips with the exact amount of cash subjected to seizure as the counting of currency in huge volumes proved to be time-consuming. The seizure of cash in huge amounts took place close on the heels of the Election Commission of India’s declaration of West Godav-ari district as ‘vulnerable’ to the twin poll-eve induce-ments of cash and liquor.