There has been a 20-fold increase in seizures that include cash, liquor and drugs, in the three election-going states Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya, as compared to the previous election in 2018, with the Election Commission-mandated operations resulting in seizures totalling more than Rs 147 crore so far.
Also, a special inter-agency team that was constituted to control the distribution of illegal drugs destroyed Rs 14.12 crore worth of Ganja cultivation in Tripura.
As on February 15, a total of Rs 14.05 crore cash was seized, as also liquor amounting to 3,09,817 litres and worth Rs 9.31 crore, drugs worth Rs 85.76 crore, freebies to the tune of Rs 34.39 crore and precious metals worth Rs 4.32 crore. The total seizures made so far are worth Rs 147.84 crore. In 2018, the total seizure was worth Rs 7.24 crore.
As regards the seizure of cash, Rs 7.36 crore was seized in Meghalaya, followed by Rs 3.44 crore in Tripura and Rs 3.25 crore in Nagaland. Freebies worth Rs 22.19 crore were seized in Meghalaya, followed by Tripura at Rs 8.47 crore and Nagaland at Rs 3.74 crore. Liquor worth Rs 4.41 crore was seized in Nagaland, Rs 2.58 crore in Tripura and Rs 2.31 crore in Meghalaya. Seizure of drugs included Rs 31.21 crore in Meghalaya, Rs 27.78 crore in Nagaland and Rs 26.77 crore in Tripura.
Precious metals worth Rs 3.41 crore were seized in Tripura and Rs 0.91 crore in Meghalaya.
The major operations conducted include the seizure of 3.52 kg of heroin in Dhalai district amounting to Rs 10.58 crore made by the police. Seizures of heroin were also reported from East Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya–2.447 kg—and from Chumoukedima district in Nagaland–2.27 kg–which was done by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.
In Tripura, which saw polling today, a special team consisting of district police, forest officials, Border Security Force, anti-narcotics agency and other agencies was formed in Sepahijhala and West Tripura district after the announcement of elections under the supervision of the Special Expenditure Observer.
In Sepahijhala, complete destruction of ganja plantation was undertaken and dry ganja seized, with the worth of both the ganja destroyed and seized being to the tune of Rs 9.27 crore. Ganja worth Rs 3.75 crore was seized in West Tripura district. In North Tripura, a seizure of 529 kg of Ganja was made, which is worth Rs 1.10 crore.
Seizure of drugs and psychotropic substances in the three states constitutes 58 per cent of the total seizures. Increased seizures were witnessed under all heads which include cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals and freebies.
Increased vigil in keeping with the Commission's directions to keep a strict watch over online bribery and cash distribution has led to a seizure of cash amounting to Rs 14.05 crore. With regard to freebies, there is one incident relating to the seizure of 17.09 lakh sticks of foreign-origin cigarettes worth Rs 3.67 crore in Meghalaya.
According to the Election Commission, since these three poll-bound states share both national and international boundaries, apart from drugs, the inflow of liquor with the purpose of wooing voters has been a major concern. The Commission had issued instructions for operationalising excise 'nakas' at strategic locations and border check posts to curb inflow of liquor. More than three lakh litres of liquor have been seized in the three states.
The concerned agencies were also directed to check choppers and passengers arriving at helipads and makeshift airports in addition to regular checking at the airports.
The Commission attributes the enhanced seizures to the coordinated efforts of enforcement agencies, extensive monitoring, marking of expenditure-sensitive constituencies and adequate deployment of field teams.
On the occasion of the announcement of dates for the Assembly elections, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had stressed on increased vigil and zero tolerance on distribution of inducements during the elections.
The Commission has deployed 19 Expenditure Observers in Tripura, 21 in Meghalaya and 24 in Nagaland as also two special expenditure observers. As many as 80 Assembly Constituencies have been marked as expenditure-sensitive.
