Northeast

Movement of unexplained cash above Rs 50,000 to be seized: Manipur CEO

Addressing the press at the CEO Office, Lamphelpat, Imphal on Thursday, Additional Chief Electoral Officer N Praveen Singh said that any cash amount above Rs 50,000 would be seized. He, however, said that the money will be released only after it is proven that it has nothing to do with the elections.

ByIFP Bureau

Updated 28 Jan 2022, 1:26 pm

(Image: Unsplash)
(Image: Unsplash)

 

With the 12th Manipur State Assembly Election 2022 just a month away and various political parties already declaring the names and lists of their candidates, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Manipur has issued instructions for cash movement.

Addressing the press at the CEO Office, Lamphelpat, Imphal on Thursday, Additional Chief Electoral Officer N Praveen Singh said that any cash amount above Rs 50,000 would be seized. He, however, said that the money will be released only after it is proven that it has nothing to do with the elections.

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If any cash exceeding Rs 50,000 is found in a vehicle carrying a candidate, his agent or party workers or carrying posters or election materials or any drugs, liquor, arms or gift items, which are valued over Rs 10,000 and are likely to be used for inducement of electors or if any other illicit articles are found in a vehicle, it will be subjected to seizure by the SST/Enforcement agency, Praveen said.

He said if cash above Rs 10,00,000 is found in a vehicle and there is no suspicion of commission of any crime or linkage to any candidate or agent or party functionary, then SST/Enforcement agencies shall not seize the cash but pass on the information to the income tax authority for necessary action under the Income Tax Laws.

Report on seized cash/items of bribe/other such items should be submitted in the court of competent jurisdiction within 24 hours, the Addl. CEO said.

Praveen also stated that banks in the state should ensure that cash vans of outsourced agencies/companies, carrying cash of concerned banks should not carry cash of any third-party agencies/individuals under any circumstances.

Outsourced agencies/companies should carry letters/documents etc. issued by concerned banks, giving details of cash released by concerned banks to them and carried by them for filing ATMs and delivering cash at other branches/banks/currency chests. Banks should regularly inform district election officers and income tax officers, Praveen said.

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Responding to a media query, the Addl. CEO said that while various measures have been taken up to conduct a free and fair election, the authorities concerned have also trained the staff to prevent double voting by anyone who had enlisted in the voter list twice in different constituencies.

Manipur is one of the pioneer states in holding dual voter cards by electors, Praveen said. All possible steps have been taken up since 2008 to combat such misconduct. Yet they are still unable to guarantee that the malpractice is being completely addressed, he said.

However, even if they enlist twice in the electoral roll, they cannot exercise their voting rights two times. The voting mark which is to print on the left index finger can’t be removed easily and immediately. For this too, training has been provided to staff who will take charge of election duty, he added.

 

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Manipur CEOcash movementN Praveen SinghChief Electoral OfficerCEO office

IFP Bureau

IFP Bureau

IMPHAL, Manipur

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