Pune: Election Commission Team Confiscates ₹22.90 Lakh From Trader In Hadapsar

With weeks to go for the Maharashtra Assembly polls, a team of the Election Commission confiscated Rs 22.90 lakh from a trader in Pune, police said.

The cash was seized by the Static Surveillance Team (SST) in Pune's Hadapsar area on October 22, prompting the authorities to notify the Income Tax department to probe further.

A Pune Police official said, "A Static Surveillance Team (SST) in Pune's Hadapsar area confiscated Rs 22.90 lakh from a trader identified as Baktumal Sukheja a resident of Daund tehsil of Pune district on 22nd October." Sukheja claimed he was heading to deposit the funds at a bank in the APMC market yard when he was intercepted by the Election Commission's team during a nakabandi operation, the official added.

The SST seized the cash at Manjari Phata on Solapur Road and promptly notified the Income Tax department for further probe, they added.

This comes after the Pune Rural Police seized Rs 5 crore from a car at the Khed Shivapur toll during a nakabandi conducted on the late evening of Monday.

Following the seizure, the opposition Maha Vikas Agadhi (MVA) had expressed concern over transparency ahead of the polls. "It is clear that if it is someone from the ruling party, then no one will ever know. We have already said that if the Election Commission is neutral, then it will be known; if it is not, then everyone will start making the same conjectures you made," Aaditya Thackeray told reporters in Mumbai on October 22.

Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with the counting for all 288 constituencies to be held on November 23.

In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena secured 56, and Congress won 44 seats. In 2014, the BJP won 122 seats, Shiv Sena secured 63, and Congress won 42 seats.