Steps in place to check ‘cash for vote’ in polls: Chief Electoral Officer Kaling Tayeng

Our Correspondent

Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Kaling Tayeng informed that steps are being taken to check use of money power by candidates to allure voters in the April 11 simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the State.

“The State has been identified as ‘highly expenditure sensitive’ State and measures are being put in place to check all such transaction and cash movement,” Tayeng disclosed.

He informed that a meeting to discuss matters relating to income tax surveillance during the elections was convened here yesterday which was also attended by Additional Director of income Tax (Investigation) Mridul Kumar Das, who is also the Nodal Officer (Income Tax) for North East India.

The meeting was also attended by IGP Sunil Garg, secretaries and directors besides Deputy Commissioners and SPs, Tayeng informed.

The CEO said the meeting was called to evaluate the sensitive areas so that strategies could be worked out for better manpower management and to share the standard operation procedures prepared by the investigation directorate of the Income Tax Department with other departments in the field.

Tayeng added that Das during the meeting informed that any seizure of Rs 10 lakh and above should invariably be informed to the income tax team which would be stationed at various locations of the State. The control room of Income Tax has already been activated at the Civil Secretariat here and income tax officers from Guwahati would also be joining the centre soon and the air intelligence for cash movements by helicopter has also been activated.

The police, the flying squad teams and the static surveillance teams being the first contact points with the public should conduct proper checking and immediately report on seizures of amount above ten lakh for verification by the Income Tax department, Tayeng added quoting Das.

Also read: Arunachal news