The
Hindu: Hyderabad: Friday, 12 December 2014.
4,133 cases
were registered in the State, of which instances of liquor seizure numbered
2,194. Citing an example, RTI data provided about information of cash seized in
the Goshamahal constituency by Begumbazar police clearly showed that amounts
seized from various persons during the run-up to the elections was given to the
IT department.
More than
4,100 cases were booked in Telangana and 5, 700 in Andhra Pradesh during the
run-up to the 2014 general elections. These included offences like liquor, gold
and cash being seized, apart from other violations of the election code.
The
information, which was acquired through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, was
provided by the Forum for Good Governance (FGG) here on Thursday. The data
reveals that a total of 4,133 cases were registered in Telangana. This included
1,199 cases for poll code violation, 543 cases of cash seizure, 198 cases of
gold and other items being seized and a whopping 2,194 cases of liquor being
seized.
Similarly,
out of the 5, 733 cases registered in AP, poll code violations constituted
1,199 cases, cash seizure 1, 373, cases of seizure of gold and other items 200,
and 2, 780 cases registered for liquor.
“The
Representation of People’s (RP) Act is very clear about the offences, which
have punishments including disqualification,” said FGG secretary M. Padmanabha
Reddy.
Cash
seized:
Though the
number of cases booked for cash seizure in Telangana was just 543, compared to
1,371 in Andhra Pradesh, money seized in the former was Rs.34.38 crore, higher
than the Rs.32 crore seized from AP.
In Telangana,
the most amount of cash seized was from Hyderabad district (Rs.16.73 crore),
followed by Mahabubnagar (Rs.6.34 crore). In Andhra Pradesh, the largest amount
of cash seized was from West Godavari district (Rs.4.8 crore), followed by
Anantapur district with Rs.4.1 crore.
“Most of the
money seized is released once the elections are over by the Income Tax (IT)
Department or the police, as there is no uniform procedure of handling the cash
after seizure. The cops are supposed to dispose it off in the courts, but they
give it to the IT Department,” said Mr. Reddy, stating that IT officials simply
collect due tax, if any, from the offenders and release the rest to him again.
Citing an
example, RTI data provided about information of cash seized in the Goshamahal
constituency by Begumbazar police clearly showed that amounts seized from
various persons during the run-up to the elections was given to the IT
department. IT officials then took advance tax (various taxes taken in advance
for the next year from the offender) and then returned the remaining amount.
“RTI also
shows ‘action drop’, which means that the case was not pursued by the police,”
said Mr. Reddy, while appealing to the Director Generals of Police (DGPs) of
both States to review the cases.
.JPG)
.JPG)
