Drugs, cash, liquor worth Rs 275 cr seized so far in Punjab

The law enforcement agencies have seized drugs, liquor and unaccounted cash worth Rs 275 crore in Punjab, where elections will be held on May 19, officials said on Monday. "The value of total seized material made between March 10 and May 5 is Rs 275 crore of which drugs is valued at Rs 212 crore," Punjab Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju told the media here.

He said that the agencies seized 7.60 tonne of drugs including opium, poppy husk and habit forming drugs along with 12.28 lakh litres of liquor in the state. The cash seizure was to the tune of Rs 30.99 crore while value of seized gold and other precious material was Rs 21.95 crore, said Raju.

The Punjab CEO asserted that the Election Commission was keeping a watch on the distribution of liquor and the cash movement during the elections. The office of Punjab CEO has also formed a special team which is keeping a tab on the supply of habit forming drugs in the state.

"So far, licenses of four such shops selling tramadol have been suspended and show cause notice to 17 shops has been issued," he further said. In a new initiative, the CEO said that nodal officers have been appointed in Punjab to check noise pollution during political speeches and action will be taken if any one is found violating the parameters.

The Punjab CEO reminded candidates contesting the polls that they would have to advertise their criminal antecedents on TV and in print media for at least three times during electioneering. "If any candidate is convicted or any criminal case is pending against him, he will have to advertise in the media," said Raju.

A total 278 candidates are in the fray for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab which will go to polls in the last phase of the ongoing general elections.

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