Chandigarh: Poll-related enforcement agencies have seized cash, liquor, drugs, precious metals, and ‘freebies’ worth £60.93 mn in Punjab since March 1, making it the fourth state nationally in terms of the amount of such seizure. Only Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Rajasthan are ranked higher than Punjab on the list.
Sharing the news with the media, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Punjab Sibin C said the seizures include cash amounting to £1.12 mn, 27,95,000 litres of liquor valued at £1.8 mn, drugs valued at £56.35 mn, precious metals totalling £1.49 mn and freebies worth £169,000.
He said that 24 enforcement agencies are actively operating in the state. “Since the enforcement of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) on March 16, total seizure by all agencies is valued at £60.93 mn. The Punjab Police have made the highest seizure in the state amounting to £40.42 mn, followed by the Border Security Force at £2.3 mn, Income Tax Department at £928,000, State Excise Department at £829,000, State Goods and Services Tax Department at £500,000, Customs Department at £437,000 and the Narcotics Control Bureau at £254,000,” Sibin added.
Among the districts, Jalandhar topped the list with total seizures worth £14.13 mn, followed by Amritsar with £9.39 mn, Tarn Taran with £5.95 mn, Firozpur with £5.45 mn and Fazilka with £4.21 mn.
Other districts with significant seizures include Ludhiana (£2.78 mn), Pathankot (£2.14 mn), Sangrur (£1.17 mn), Gurdaspur (£1.07 mn), Patiala (£729,000), Barnala (£720,000) and Moga (£673,000).
All 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab will go to the polls on June 1.
