With the flow of vehicles into Erode on the rise, the district police have stepped up vehicle checks in the Erode (East) Assembly constituency, where a bypoll is scheduled for February 27.
Since leaders, functionaries and cadre of most political parties are involved in campaigning, a large number of vehicles enter the city every day. Two-wheelers, cars, autorickshaws and other vehicles are being intercepted and checked by the police teams.
On Friday night, a large number of the cadre of various political parties who had come in from other districts, went back to their hometowns and then returned on Monday, leading to the city witnessing heavy traffic congestion at most places. “We checked for the transfer of cash and election paraphernalia without valid documents,” said a policeman involved in the vehicle checks. He added that there was a sharp increase in the number of vehicles entering the city from last week onwards, and said he expected vehicle flow to be on the rise in the coming days too.
The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) came into force in Erode from January 18, after which static surveillance teams (SST) and flying surveillance teams (FST) were formed, to check for the transport of cash, valuables and other products without valid documents. Individuals have been directed to ensure they have valid documents, if they were carrying cash above ₹50,000 and articles, liquor bottles and gifts worth ₹10,000 or more.
The district police also formed special teams that were posted at over 30 locations in the constituency to check vehicles round-the-clock.
