Braving the blistering afternoon heat JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda and his supporters sat out in protest at the Gandhi chowk in Old Goa on Tuesday, a day after its party workers were held for poll malpractices by the police in Vasco.
“The JD(S) is trying to make an entry into Goa, and this kind of police harassment is totally unwarranted,” Mr Gowda told Deccan Herald at Old Goa.
He said using officials who worked “in the establishment of the local government” was bound to vitiate the poll process. “I will complain to the Election Commission about this,” Mr Gowda said.
JD(S) Karnataka general secretary Pramod Hegde and four other party workers were picked up from a five-star hotel in Bogmalo, Vasco after they were found with cash totalling Rs 9 lakh.
Mr Gowda said the JD(S) was a recognised party and it would have accounted for its funds in its audit statement after the election.
Reliable information
Mormugao Returning Officer Levinson Martins under whose supervision the police conducted the raid on JD(S) supporters, told Deccan Herald that election officials had acted on reliable information that unaccounted money was being distributed in the Cortalim constituency.
“My job is to ensure that no money is distributed to influence voters. We had information that the JD(S) was to receive Rs 60 lakh. We acted on that information and recovered Rs 9 lakh from the hotel room,” Mr Martins said.
He said no money was found in two other residences raided around the Vasco area.