UP polls: Made elaborate arrangements to check use of black money, says I-T dept

A toll-free number (18001807540) has been put out through which people can provide specific details regarding “cash or other valuables suspected to be used for unduly influencing the election process,” Mohan Kumar Singhania, Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, said and assured the identity of such callers will be kept confidential.

With less than a month left for the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the Income Tax department has made elaborate arrangements to check the use of black money during the polling process.

Mohan Kumar Singhania also said that airport and railway authorities have been asked to keep vigil over the movement of cash through air or trains. (Representative image)

Mohan Kumar Singhania, Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, told news agency PTI on Thursday that a control room has been set up in Lucknow.

A toll-free number (18001807540) has been put out through which people can provide specific details regarding “cash or other valuables suspected to be used for unduly influencing the election process,” Singhania said and assured the identity of such callers will be kept confidential.

As many as 300 officers and inspectors will be deployed in every district of Uttar Pradesh to act on such complaints, the top I-T official also told the news agency.

Among other arrangements, people, places and activities involved in the handling of unaccounted money during the election have been put under surveillance.

Singhania also said that airport and railway authorities have been asked to keep vigil over the movement of cash through air or trains.

To identify any suspicious transactions, details are also being received regarding cash withdrawals from bank accounts that exceed a certain limit.

Thursday's announcement about monitoring the use of the money during elections comes after the Income Tax department carried out raids on leaders of the Samajwadi Party (SP) in December last year, some of them close to party president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Both the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have sparred over the issue of these raids.

While the SP has accused the BJP of misusing central agencies like the I-T department, the ED and the CBI for electoral gains, the Centre has hit back by saying that raids were carried out on the basis of actionable intelligence.

Elections to 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases starting from February 10 and ending on March 7. The counting of votes and declaration of results will take place on March 10.

(With PTI inputs)