JOIN US Barely two days before the state votes, a flying squad deployed by the Election Commission seized Rs 570 crore from three trucks in the Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu on Saturday.
Sources said the seizure was initiated when the trucks en route to Visakhapatnam from Coimbatore ignored the squads signals to stop. Security personnel then chased and intercepted the vehicle between Perumanallur and Kunnathur near Tirupur.
On checking, the authorities found huge amount of money in many boxes inside the containers. The men in the truck claimed they were policemen in civilian clothes who were transferring money from State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Coimbatore to Vishakhapatnam branches.
When asked why they did not stop, the men told the police that they were afraid they could be robbed, and also that they were unaware that those who flagged-off the trucks were from the election department.
According to Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Lakhoni, initial inquiries revealed that the cash belonged to SBI.
Stating that the security guards in the vans were carrying only copies of the documents and not originals raising suspicion, the electoral officer said “they were also in plain clothes and not in their uniform”.
Later in the night, Lakhoni clarified that the money in the trucks has not been seized and further verification is on.