Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network- Kundapur (RJP)
Kundapur, Feb 15: Election officers raided on Tuesday February 16 the district Cooperative Bank premises in Byndoor and seized 7,500 sarees allegedly meant to be distributed among voters in the upcoming zilla and taluk panchayat elections. They sealed the premises after the raid.
The raid was conducted based on complaints from activists of BJP.
On Monday night, BJP activists including Nagaraj and others complained in writing and demanded that the sarees be seized and action taken against the culprits. Block education officer Nagesh Naik who is also the presiding section officer visited the spot and sealed the room where the sarees were allegedly kept.
On Tuesday morning he came with the police and got the door opened by the bank manager Venkatesh Billava. The team found 13 bundles of sarees numbering 7,500. Naik seized the items and kept them sealed pending action from election officers concerned.
BJP Raitha Morcha vice-president Deepak Kumar Shetty speaking to media persons said that the sarees were meant to lure the voters in the forthcoming elections. He said the timely action by the BJP activists stopped the illegal distribution. BJP local president B M Sukumara Shetty and secretary Sadashiva D Paduvary were present.
Meanwhile, bank manager Venkatesh Billava who spoke to the media refuted the allegations and said that the sarees in question belonged to Navodaya Rural Development Trust in Mangaluru. “After distributing the sarees to the Navodaya self-help groups, the remaining sarees were stored in the bank premises. The trust has necessary documents in its possession to prove this and they will be submit to the persons concerned. The sarees were not meant for any other purpose as alleged," Billava said.
A police team led by circle inspector M Sudarshan and sub-inspector Santhosh A Kaikini provided security throughout the operation.