Seizures worth ₹147 crore in Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland ahead of polls: ECI
Hindustan TimesNEW DELHI: Law enforcement agencies have seized cash, precious metals, liquor, narcotics, and freebies worth ₹148 crore in the run-up to assembly elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland, a 20-fold increase over seizures worth Rs.7.24 crore in 2018, the Election Commission of India said on Thursday. Also, the commission, which has classified 80 assembly segments across the three states as expenditure sensitive, appointed 19 expenditure observers in Tripura, 21 in Meghalaya and 24 in Nagaland. The teams also seized freebies worth ₹34.39 crore, ₹14.05 crore in cash and liquor worth ₹9.31 crore, the ECI statement said. “The efforts have led to more than 3 lakh litres of liquor seizure in the three states with still days left before final completion of poll, particularly in Meghalaya and Nagaland,” the election watchdog said, adding that seizure of 1.7 million sticks of imported cigarettes worth ₹3.67 crores was also reported in Meghalaya.