Ensure 521 cases relating to poll offences are taken to logical end: EC
J Balaji
NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has directed the officials of the Tamil Nadu Elections Department to ensure that the 521 cases filed by the State police during the run up to the recent Assembly elections relating to the seizure of unaccounted cash and other materials were taken to the logical end through the courts. Election Commission Director-General (Expenditure) P.K. Dash told The Hindu here on Thursday that in Tamil Nadu alone, the flying squad of the Commission seized around Rs.40 crore from various places and the Income Tax department officials recovered another Rs.20 crore in cash and kind.
While the police registered cases where there was criminality involved — when the cash was seized along with the poll pamphlets, banners, notices or any other campaign materials and found that it was taken with the intention to bribe voters — all other cases of unaccounted cash/materials had been transferred to the Income Tax department for taking up further action. Wherever possible, after a thorough investigation, the local IT department, would collect tax, penalties from the persons from whom such huge cash had been seized.
Asked why no arrests had been made after the recovery, Mr. Dash, who is a Chief Commissioner of Income-Tax rank officer specially deputed to the Election Commission for monitoring the election expenditure, said since such cases were non-cognizable offences, proper follow-up action would be taken up through the courts.
He said of the States/Union Territory — Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry — where Assembly elections were held, Tamil Nadu topped the list for seizure of huge amount of unaccounted cash.
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