In four different incidents, officials on Monday seized Rs. 39.90 lakh that are yet to be accounted. The money has been deposited in treasury.
It will be handed over to owners once they provide necessary documents, police said. During a vehicle check near the State Express Transport Corporation bus stand on Monday morning, officials found a person carrying Rs. 15 lakh in a bag.
Later, it was found that he was carrying another Rs. 5 lakh on person. The police said Vikash (32) from Rajasthan claimed that he was in Coimbatore with the cash to buy textiles.
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In another incident, officials seized Rs. 8.50 lakh from a car on the Pollachi-Valparai Road, near Chinnampalayam.
Officials said Shajahan of Kozhikode had claimed that he was carrying the cash to buy coir products from Pollachi.
Another Rs. 7.30 lakh was seized from a car near Negamam from Abubacker who claimed that the cash was to buy poultry.
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The officials seized Rs. 1.16 lakh from Kadiravan, who too was into poultry business.
During vehicle checks at Kattampatti, officials seized Rs. 2.94 lakh. With cash seizure becoming the norm of the day, district officials held a meeting with jewellery traders and pawn brokers to brief them on the procedure to carry cash during the election period when model code of conduct is in place.
Seizure in Tirupur
Special squads constituted by the Tirupur district administration for election duty seized unaccounted cash to the tune of Rs. 5.11 lakh from different parts of the district on Monday. Official sources said of the amount, Rs. 1.49 lakh was seized from a trader travelling in a van from Oddanchathram to Mysore for purchasing vegetables in bulk. The van was intercepted at Palladam.
The remaining amount was seized from a person at Avinashi for which the details are yet to be compiled by election cell officials.
Protest
Meanwhile, the Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi appealed to the election officials not to harass small traders who carry money as part of their profession.
The party said the cash should be seized only after ascertaining that it was meant for election purposes or to influence voters.
Rs. 35 lakh seized in Chennai
Unaccounted money to the tune of Rs. 35 lakh was seized from a businessman during a routine vehicle check by a police team on NSC Bose Road in Parrys on Sunday night. Police said the money was found in the car of plastics goods trader Praveen Kumar of Park Town.
As he was unable to furnish necessary documents to indicate the source of the money, police seized it. Mr. Kumar has been given 24 hours’ time to submit documents to receive money.