Seizure of illicit goods under poll code surges by Rs 1 cr in a week

PANAJI
In a span of just one week, the cumulative value of inducements seized surged by over Rs 1 crore, with the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer disclosing that law enforcement agencies intercepted inducements amounting to Rs 16.65 crore approximately by April 22. The total stood at Rs 15.04 crore as of April 15.

The seizures of various illicit materials, including cash, liquor, precious metals, and assorted freebies have been recorded in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections with Goa to go to polls on May 7. A series of raids are conducted by Income Tax, Commercial Tax, Goa Police, Narcotics Control Bureau, Excise, Railway Protection Force and Goa Customs.

Cash seizures continue to dominate the total figure, reaching Rs 4.6 crore till April 22, compared to Rs 4.42 crore reported till April 15. Liquor seizures amounted to Rs 3.43 crore, with ‘precious metals’ valued at over Rs 3 crore. Authorities remain tight-lipped regarding the origins and sources of the confiscated cash.

Further details reveal that miscellaneous items, including a mobile phone, were seized by the Goa Police, with the number of unidentified items rising surprisingly from 62,118 by April 15 to 139,909 items by April 22, confiscated by the Commercial Tax Department. The estimated value of the unidentified seizures amounts to Rs 1.35 crore approximately, which is around Rs 22 lakh more than previous week’s total records.

These figures cover from March 16, when the election code came into effect to April 22.