As part of routine vehicle checks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Nalgonda police in Telangana confiscated gold valued at Rs 5.73 crores, according to officials. The seizure occurred within the Miryalguda 1 Town police station jurisdiction.
Sudhakar, the Station House Officer at Miryalguda 1 Town Police station, stated that the gold was being transported from Miryalguda to Khammam in a vehicle, with further details awaited.
During a press conference, Nalgonda Superintendent of Police Chandana Deept explained that the district police intensified vehicle checks following the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct after the Lok Sabha polls schedule was announced earlier this month. This initiative aimed to prevent the illegal transportation of cash and valuables to influence voters.
On March 18 around 11:30 am, a police team led by Inspector G Sudhakar stopped a vehicle heading towards Kodad side and discovered gold worth Rs 5.73 crores being transported illegally, violating Election Commission of India guidelines. The police took the respondents and the gold into custody based on a complaint from the Flying Squad and initiated an investigation.
The Election Commission of India has implemented measures to combat the misuse of money and power during the 2024 general elections.
“Cash movement worth around Rs 3,400 crore was restricted in the last 11 state assembly elections in Rajasthan, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Tripura,” CEC Rajiv Kumar said.
CEC Kumar also mentioned that daunting challenges in conducting free and fair elections are “muscle, money, misinformation, and MCC violations” and emphasized that the poll panel has put in place measures to deal with these disruptive challenges.
