Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)
Bangalore, Apr 21: Director general of police Dr Ajai Kumar Singh has informed that as a precautionary measure in view of the ensuing Lok Sabha election, the police department registered 9,285 cases and initiated steps against 17,750 persons in the state. Since the date of announcement of election till April 19, eight cases pertaining to illegal possession of fire arms and explosives were registered, he revealed.
As a precaution, 9,055 prospective trouble-mongers were arrested and produced in court and released after they executed bonds of good behaviour, he explained.
Goods worth Rs.1.37 crore illegally hoarded were confiscated. Cash amounting to Rs 18.37 crore, being transported without backed by records purportedly for luring voters and to indulge in election-related irregularities, were seized. He added, that all measures necessary to ensure incident-free polling in all the 28,997 polling booths where polling will be conducted on April 23 and 18,406 polling booths which will witness election on April 30, have been taken. 55 superintendents of police, 175 deputy superintendents of police, 525 police inspectors and 3,500 sub-inspectors and scores of other personnel are being pressed into service for the purpose, he divulged.
In addition to 60,000 police personnel of the state, 135 Karnataka State Reserve Police platoons and 5,000 policemen of the District Armed Reserve are being utilized. Services of the Personnel of CRPF, CISF and additional police forces from Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamilnadu will also be drawn on election duty, he explained.
He asked those having information about the election-related malpractices, to pass on information to telephone No. 18004250100, which will function round the clock. He revealed that Bellary district accounted for the lion’s share of the amount confiscated so far. Singh explained that in two cases in Bellary district, cash was found to being transferred from one branch of Axis Bank to another, without following the formalities prescribed by the Reserve Bank, and even ICICI Bank was found to be shifting cash in similar manner in violation of RBI instructions.
"I can not say as to whether the politicians and parties have used the services of private banks for election-related irregularities. An investigation is being carried to ascertain the same," he added.