Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): While various enforcement agencies are busy seizing cash and other valuables, so far, no such seizure could be directly attributed to any political party or candidate. Mostly it is big traders and their collection agents who are getting intercepted and their money is being seized. An election officer, entrusted with the task of coordinating with different enforcement agencies, said that hitherto, no money has been seized, which could be directly linked to any politician.
He added that it is equally difficult to say that the seized money or other items were meant to be used for election purposes. In the meantime, so far, no one has come forward to claim the Rs 1 crore and 22 kg silver seized from a bus in Jhabua in the first week of April. The bus driver failed to provide any clue about the owner of the seized booty.
The officers deployed in election duty are still waiting for the owner of the seized booty to turn up. The data collected from the Chief Electoral Office revealed that till May 1, cash seizure stood at Rs 20.62 crore. The overall seizure, including other items, is Rs 264.65 crore, which is several times more than the overall seizure of Rs 85 crore in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
‘Action being taken with sincerity’
Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Rajan told Free Press that the enforcement agencies are working in a coordinated manner and action is being taken with sincerity. In box Traders say collection agents being intercepted Kanaiya Lal Israni, president of Bairagarh Wholesale Cloth Merchant Association, said that traders pay GST and other taxes but their collection agents are being intercepted by the enforcement agencies. To reclaim the seized money, traders run from pillar to post and have to wait for at least 10 days to get the seized money back. He demanded that elections shall not be held during the wedding season.
