Rs530 million illegal cash seized in poll-bound states

New Delhi: Illegal cash of over Rs 530 million has been confiscated from the five Indian states facing Assembly elections with southern state of Tamil Nadu leading the list following seizures of Rs 214.5 million.
Even as the second phase of polls is scheduled for Monday in West Bengal and Assam, Election Commission (EC) said the north-eastern state is second on the list with Rs 116.6 million having been seized there.
In Kerala, the figure stands at about Rs 96.5 million, while Rs 96.1 milliob has been seized in West Bengal.
Puducherry has seen seizures of about Rs 6.08 million, EC data said.
The cash seizures were made by EC-appointed special flying squads and surveillance teams and by officials drawn from the Income Tax department.
"The total progressive figure of seizures made till now is over Rs 53 crore(Rs530 million)," a senior official said on Sunday.
The model code of conduct for these polls came into force on March 4 after EC announced the schedule for the Assembly polls in five states.
The first phase of polling was held on April 4 in Assam and West Bengal and the second part of that phase is slated for April 11.
Elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will be held in one go on May 16. EC, as part of its measures to curb the use of black money in the polls, has deployed 'expenditure observers' drawn from central revenue services like Income Tax and the Customs and Excise departments.
In order to keep a tab on the huge cash expenditure during polls, EC has also asked the Central Board of Direct Taxes and the Financial Intelligence Unit -- two agencies under the Union Finance Ministry -- to keep a strict vigil.