Election Commission says crackdown will continue ahead of Lok Sabha polls (representativeness)

Jammu:

India’s Election Commission said on Monday that authorities had seized cash, liquor, drugs and freebies worth more than 40 million rupees in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The poll body is on track to achieve the highest collection of inducements in the country’s 75-year history of Lok Sabha elections, with total collection of Rs 4,650 crore, an increase of Rs 1.75 billion from 2019.

Cash worth Rs 12 crore, liquor worth Rs 63 lakh, drugs worth Rs 23.5 lakh, precious metals worth Rs 258 billion and freebies worth Rs 5.59 lakh were seized in Jammu and Kashmir, according to EC data and other items.

“The total amount seized in JK is worth Rs 42 crore,” it said.

Similarly, Ladakh saw seizures of all items worth Rs 11,580, including liquor, making it the lowest among all states and Union Territories.

The European Commission said the crackdown would continue ahead of the Lok Sabha vote. Jammu and Kashmir ranks 30th among 36 states and union territories in terms of seizures.

Even before voting in the first phase of the 18th Lok Sabha elections starting on Friday, law enforcement agencies have seized a record over Rs 4,650 crore in the European Commission’s determined fight against money power, it added.

This marks a significant increase from the Rs 3,475 crore seized throughout the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Notably, 45% of the seizures were drugs and narcotics, which is of particular concern to the Committee, it added.

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