HYDERABAD: The Forum for Good Governance (FGG) on Wednesday released a report based on information received through RTI, in which it has pointed out that in 76 per cent of cases wherein money was seized during the elections in Telangana when the Model Code of Conduct was in force, no FIR was filed by the police.
Addressing a press conference here, the FGG said it sought information under RTI from several police stations in the State and found that 640 cases were registered relating to seizure of Rs 84.36 crore, of which FIR was registered only in 159 cases for the seizure amounting to Rs 28.27 crore.
In the rest of 481 cases no action was taken and the seized money was released.
The FGG points out that in many cases where huge amounts were seized, no action was taken. For example in Chiragpally PS of Sangareddy, Rs 50 lakh was seized but no case was registered and the money was released.
However, the police acted over-enthusiastically in incidents when it recovered small amounts.
For example, in Gadwal Rural PS the police registered a criminal case against a person after they seized Rs 500 and in Dammapet PS police arrested three persons for possessing Rs 1,650, it said.
Also the FGG found that in hawala transactions, the cases were not reported to the Enforcement Directorate as per the rules, like in the cases under Jangaon PS and Jainath PS where the police seized Rs 5.8 crore and Rs 10 crore respectively.
The FGG report also said that in some cases where persons from whom money was seized stated that they were transporting cash for a candidate, but the FIR registered did not name the candidate but only the mule.
The FGG also questioned the legality of police depositing seized money in fixed deposits in the banks in some cases.
It charged the Telangana State Election Commission for acting as a ‘back office’ to the Income Tax department, handing over the seized money to the IT department without registering any police case.
It demanded that the Chief Election Officer should ensure that whatever cases have been filed are reviewed regularly and brought to their logical end.