Rs 31.5 cr unaccounted cash seized in poll-bound Karnataka
Bengaluru, May 10: A total of Rs 31.5 crore unaccounted cash and gold jewellery worth Rs 5.83 crore were seized by the Income Tax department in Karnataka since the state assembly election was announced on March 27, said an official on Thursday.
"Since the Model Code of Conduct came into force on March 27 after the Election Commission announced the May 12 assembly election, the department has seized Rs 31.5 crore unaccounted cash and Rs 5.83-crore worth jewellery," said Income Tax Joint Commissioner G. Ramesh in a statement here.
Noting that the illegal amount seized during the last six weeks was six-fold more than made in the May 2013 assembly elections, he said the seizures were likely to go up by the voting day on Saturday.
"In the present election, we were able to unearth incriminating evidence of misuse of money power from raising unaccounted funds to the distribution of cash and freebies by the contesting candidates," said Ramesh.
The department's investigation wing had shared the evidence with the Election Commission, the state's Chief Electoral Officer) and district election officers for action under the Representation of People's Act, 1951.
"The raids are carried as per rules and after ensuring that a particular search was required. The proceedings cover the entire political spectrum and are conducted impartially, respecting the privacy of the searched person in the presence of witnesses," said Ramesh.
The department has been keeping a watch on cash transactions, including bank transfers, contract payments and deals by realtors and non-banking finance companies during the monitoring period.
"Our intelligence at airports, railway stations and bus terminals has been strengthened and is functioning in coordination with other law enforcement agencies," the IT Department pointed out the statement.
Affidavits of candidates submitted with nominations are verified with their income tax returns and that of their family members.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
