Ludhiana- Keeping in view of the upcoming Ludhiana West by-election and in the light of instructions appended in Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by Election Commission of India, district administration Ludhiana has constituted a 4-member committee to deal with cases pertaining to seizure of cash and other material by flying squad teams (FST), static surveillance teams (SST) and excise teams to strictly implement the Model Code of Conduct.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (Rural development) Amarjit Bains, has been appointed as chairman of the committee while District Treasury Officer Arun Kumar, ACFA Rakesh Kansal and SO Shivinder Singh are its members.
As per guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the committee will take decisions regarding seizure and release of cash and other items confiscated during checking so as to avoid inconvenience to the general public.
Election officials said the committee would suo moto examine each case of seizure by the police, FST and SST. Upon confirming that the confiscated material was not linked with any political party or candidate, the committee would pass orders with respect to release of such seizure. They said if a person concerned presented any proof legitimatising the seizure, the committee would decide on the release of such cash or other impounded material.
Notably, carrying up to Rs 50, 000 in cash requires no documentation. However, amounts between Rs 50, 000 and Rs 10 lakh must be accompanied by valid proof, while cash exceeding Rs 10 lakh, even with documentation, will be reported to the Income Tax Department for further scrutiny by the seizing teams.