NEW DELHI : The Election Commission on Saturday said the enforcement agencies have so far made progressive seizures of cash and other articles worth over ₹152 crore in the poll-bound Karnataka.
While ₹67.27 crore in cash has been seized, the agencies have made a total seizure of gold and silver worth more than ₹43 crore from different parts of the State. Liquor consignments worth ₹23.36 crore have also been impounded.
Of the total amount, the Income-Tax Department has seized ₹20.43 crore in cash. The Department had earlier conducted searches against an election candidate after verification of the affidavit filed by him.
The official said Rs 32.54 crore in cash, out of the total seizures of Rs 152.78 crore, has been released after verification. The figure also includes seized narcotics worth more than Rs 39.80 lakh, according to official data since the declaration of the elections for the Karnataka Assembly.
The seizures have been made by various surveillance, police and Income Tax department teams that have been deployed in the state by the poll panel to check the use of black money and illegal inducements, the official said.The state will go to polls on May 12. The counting of votes is scheduled for May 15.
The candidate had not filed Income-Tax Returns since 2012-13. In his affidavit, he claimed that the online filing of his returns had been blocked and that, he had only paid self-assessment tax. Serious discrepancies in the income declared by his wife were also detected.(With Agency Inputs ).