9.61L ltr liquor, Rs 1.71cr cash seized in poll-bound Gujarat
New Delhi, Dec 3- About 9.61 lakh litres of liquor, Rs 1.71 crore in cash and gold and jewellery worth over Rs 8 crore have been seized by the Election Commission-appointed surveillance and expenditure monitoring teams in poll-bound Gujarat till now. The Election Commission teams have so far confiscated liquor valued at Rs 22.19 crore from the state where prohibition is in force. The teams also seized suspected illicit cash totalling Rs 1.71 crore, 37.63 kg of gold and other precious metals valued at Rs 8.17 crore and 35 kg of narcotics worth Rs 3.5 lakh, according to official data. Apart from this, 3,650 British Pounds (about Rs 3.11 lakh) and 30,000 Thai Baht (about Rs 60,000) have also been seized by the EC teams, the data said. The EC has appointed about 100 election expenditure observers in Gujarat, apart from other central observers, to keep a check on black money and illegal inducements used to bribe voters. Over 311kg of bullion, an EC official said, has been released by the surveillance teams post verification in the state as it was meant for genuine jewellery business. In Rajkot, the jewellery manufacturing hub, 6-8 kg of bullion is being intercepted daily at the airport and it is being released similarly post verification, he said. The 182-member Gujarat Assembly will go to polls in two phases on December 9 and 14. The counting of votes is scheduled for December 18. PTI
