Seizure of cash, liquor, precious metals and other freebies breached the ₹500-crore mark in Telangana for the first time.
Enforcement agencies reported seizure of cash, liquor and other items worth ₹20.30 crore in 24 hours between 9 a.m. on Monday and 9 a.m. on Tuesday, taking the total worth of seized items so far to ₹518 crore, the highest prior to elections in the State. Of these, cash seizure accounted for ₹3.21 crore, taking the total so far since the announcement of the Assembly election schedule on October 9 to ₹177.32 crore. The seizure, according to the election officials, was primarily because of the inability of the persons carrying the cash to provide information about the sources from where it had been mobilised.
Liquor seizure continues to be on the rise with commodities including 2,501.3 litres of liquor valued at ₹3.52 crore taking the estimated worth of the total seizures since October 9 to ₹66.45 crore. Freebies including speakers, mobile phones and T-shirts ostensibly meant for distribution among the electorate amounted to ₹11.57 crore, taking their total worth to an estimated ₹66.10 crore, much higher than ₹55 crore reported on Monday.
There is, however, a sharp decline in the seizure of precious metals like gold and silver with officials apprehending items worth ₹20.91 lakh during the day. Though the Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked the enforcement officials to be lenient on seizure of precious metals, an ECI team which visited the State last week reportedly enquired about the slowdown in seizures and wanted the officials to continue constant vigil on the movement of such commodities.
