Tamil Nadu Election 2021: Rs 225.5 crore in cash has been recovered in the raids (Representational)
A whopping Rs 428 crore in cash and precious metals have been seized from Tamil Nadu ahead of the assembly polls in the state tomorrow, the Election Commission said.
The total cash seizure stands at Rs 225.5 crore while precious metals, including gold, accounts for Rs 176.11 crore. Liquor was also seized during the raids.
The raids were conducted over the past few weeks in various locations in the state ahead of the polls. State capital Chennai is among the many places that was raided.
The state's Chief Electoral Officer today said that "Karur tops in seizures, with Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Chennai following suit.
Patrolling was increased significantly during the night and early morning resulting in significant seizure in the last 24 hours.
This included cash seizure of Rs 91.56 lakh in Ranipet district, Rs 1.23 crore in Thousand lights constituency in Chennai and Rs 1.15 crore at Veerapandi in Salem, the poll body said.
"The last 72 hours to the polls are extremely sensitive from expenditure standpoint. Towards this, round the clock surveillance along with CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) teams has been taken up," reported news agency PTI quoting an Election Commission release.
105 expenditure sensitive constituencies have been identified in the state and extra efforts as mandated by Election Commission were strengthened, the release added.
118 Expenditure Observers have been drafted to monitor expenditure by candidates and political parties as well, it added.
Last month, the Income Tax Department seized "unaccounted" cash of over Rs 16 crore and detected black income of about Rs 80 crore after raids on multiple entities the state as a part of the election surveillance.
The high-octane campaign for the single-phase assembly elections ended on Sunday at 7 pm.
Over 6.28 crore eligible voters will choose 234 members of the 3,998 candidates contesting the elections.