Seizures of over ₹120 cr made in Karnataka, says official

Cash amounting to over ₹67.27 crore, over five lakh litres of liquor worth ₹23.36 crore, gold valued at 43.17 crore and other items such as pressure cookers, sarees, sewing machines, gutkha, laptops and vehicles, among others, worth about ₹18.57 crore, have been seized.

The Election Commission-appointed surveillance teams have seized suspect cash, jewellery and other inducements worth over ₹120 crore in the poll-bound Karnataka, a senior official said on Saturday.

An Election Commission official seals an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). (AFP photo for representative purposes)

Cash amounting to over ₹67.27 crore, over five lakh litres of liquor worth ₹23.36 crore, gold valued at 43.17 crore and other items such as pressure cookers, sarees, sewing machines, gutkha, laptops and vehicles, among others, worth about ₹18.57 crore, have been seized, he said.

The official said ₹32.54 crore in cash, out of the total seizures of ₹152.78 crore, has been released after verification.

The figure also includes seized narcotics worth more than ₹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.