Violation of MCC: More illegal cash, vehicles seized across the state
Bengaluru: Surveillance teams of the Election Commission (EC) seized unaccounted cash amounting to Rs 4.60 lakh, vehicles valued at Rs 42.75 lakh and unspecified quantity of rice worth Rs 3.45 lakh during the last 24 hours in poll-bound Karnataka, an official said on Wednesday.
"With the latest crackdown on offenders, our teams have cumulatively seized Rs 1.63 crore in cash and vehicles and other items valued at about Rs 3.5 crore so far for violation of the model code of conduct," said the state Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar in a statement here.
The poll code has been in force since March 27 for the May 12 Assembly election in the state.
"An FIR (First Information Report) has been lodged for misuse of government vehicle, and five others for inducements to voters in the last 24 hours," the statement said.
The Excise Department has seized over 250 litres of liquor in the past 24 hours.
Since the enforcement of the code of conduct, 3,433 litres of liquor was seized and 218 heinous cases were lodged. The Department so far seized liquor and vehicles valued at Rs 1.32 crore.
A total of 1,156 squads and 1,255 surveillance teams have been put in place to ensure the code of conduct is followed in the state.
As the code also bans carrying of licensed firearms, as many as 46,235 arms from across the state have been deposited with officials so far.
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RSS man's defamation case against Rahul: Key witness unavailable, hearing adjourned to Dec 20
Thane (PTI): A court in Bhiwandi in Thane district on Saturday adjourned the hearing in the criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker to December 20 due to non-availability of a crucial prosecution witness.
Advocate Narayan Iyer, counsel for Rahul Gandhi, confirmed the adjournment, stating that the witness, Ashok Saykar, currently Deputy Superintendent of Police in Barshi in Solapur, could not remain present due to personal reasons.
Saykar's evidence is now likely to be recorded on December 29.
His testimony is considered key because he, as police sub inspector in 2014, conducted the preliminary inquiry into the private defamation matter under Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
It was on the basis of Saykar's submitted report that the court subsequently issued process (summons) against Rahul Gandhi under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The criminal defamation case was filed by local RSS worker Rajesh Kunte following a speech given by Rahul Gandhi at an election rally near Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014.
The case stems from the Congress leader's alleged statement that "the RSS people killed (Mahatma) Gandhi."
The matter is being heard by Bhiwandi Joint Civil Judge, Junior Division, P M Kolse.
The hearing had previously been adjourned on November 15 after the complainant's counsel, Advocate Prabodh Jaywant, moved an application seeking permission to examine Saykar, who had submitted the probe report to the court.
The matter was originally scheduled for November 29 but was deferred to December 6 after Rahul Gandhi's legal team sought an adjournment citing their non-availability. The proceedings will now resume on December 20.
