Election officials had so far seized unaccounted cash to the tune of ₹51.31 lakh while ganja and drug tablets worth ₹10.38 lakh have also been seized as of Monday, February 20. The bypoll is scheduled for February 27.
After the model conduct of conduct (MCC) for the Erode (East) Assembly byelection came into force from January 18, three static surveillance teams (SSTs) and three flying surveillance teams (FSTs) were formed to prevent the distribution of cash or gift items to voters and to monitor violations of the MCC. Erode District Election Officer and Collector H. Krishnanunni had also asked individuals to ensure they had valid documents if they were carrying cash above ₹50,000 and articles and gifts worth ₹10,000 or more.
Teams that function round-the-clock so far, have seized cash amounting to ₹51,31,590 for want of documents from motorists. Also, toddy worth ₹9,05,360 and ganja and drug tablets worth ₹1,33,212 were seized. “The total seizure stood at ₹61,70,612 as on February 20,” said an election official.
