Rs 258 crore cash, liquor seized in Andhra Pradesh since Jan 1

Authorities have seized Rs 258 crore cash, liquor and drugs since January 1 in Andhra Pradesh, where assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be held simultaneously on May 13, Chief Secretary K S Jawahar Reddy said on Wednesday.

Reddy apprised Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar about the seizures during a video conference.

''From January 1 to this day, Rs 258 crore cash, liquor, drugs and other inducements have been seized... Andhra Pradesh shares borders with five states and 150 checkposts have been set up at the state borders,'' the chief secretary said.

Though the state is facing some Maoist influence from the neighbouring states of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, it will be overcome with watertight security arrangements, he said.

According to the chief secretary, 132 integrated checkposts have been set up within the state and 632 flying squads are on duty round the clock.

Director General of Police (DGP) K V Rajendranath Reddy informed the EC that 91 polling stations have been identified as Maoist-affected and tight security measures are being put in place.

He said the state has requested Maharashtra to return the 10 companies of Andhra Pradesh Police sent there recently and also sought more security forces.

The video conference was also attended by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar Meena and other officials.

The counting of votes for assembly and Lok Sabha elections will be taken up on June 4.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)