EC keeps sharp eye: Cash, liquor & drugs worth Rs 108 cr seized ahead of voting in Bihar, other states

NEW DELHI: Progressive seizures by multiple enforcement agencies in Bihar polls and bypolls in other states have breached the Rs 100-crore mark, with liquor recoveries alone accounting for over 40% of their value.

The election commission on Monday shared that illegal voter inducements worth Rs 108 crore were seized between the announcement of polls/bypolls on Oct 6 and Nov 3, by its 824 flying squads and other agencies. These include seizures of liquor worth over Rs 42 crore, drugs worth Rs 24.6 crore, Rs 9.6 crore of illegal cash, precious metals worth Rs 5.8 crore and freebies worth Rs 26 crore, in coordinated actions involving multi-enforcement agencies across the states/UTs.

Polling in Bihar is scheduled on Nov 6 and 11. All assembly bypolls will be held simultaneously with Phase 2 of Bihar poll on Nov 11.

EC in a release said it has directed all poll/bypoll-bound state/UT govts to strictly enforce the model code of conduct (MCC). “824 flying squads have been deployed across Bihar to ensure that the complaints reported on C-Vigil are attended to within 100 minutes,” it shared.

The commission has directed all the enforcement authorities to strictly monitor and combat movement of cash, drugs, liquor and other inducements during elections. 5. It also wants the enforcement authorities to ensure that ordinary citizens are not inconvenienced or harassed during the checking and inspection.

Citizens and political parties can report MCC violations using the C-Vigil app on ECINET. A complaint monitoring system has also been set up, including a dedicated call centre number 1950 on which complaints can be lodged by any member of the public or political party, with the DEO/RO concerned. This system is operational 24x7, EC said on Monday.