GUNTUR: As Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are around the corner, Guntur police have decided to monitor banking transactions of ‘substantial amounts’.
In a meeting with managers of nationalised, private and cooperative banks here on Friday, Urban and Rural SPs Ch Vijaya Rao and S Rajasekhar Babu asked them to inform the police if a large sum of money was deposited or withdrawn from an individual’s account.
The bankers were also told to install CCTVs at every branch in the district as per the Election Commission (EC) guidelines.
“The police will not intervene if the account holder is able to give a legitimate reason for his transaction,” the SPs said. The move is to ensure that voters are not lured towards any candidate by the distribution of money.
On the occasion, lead bank manager M Sudarshan Rao said the police officers have trained bank officials to check money circulation among the public during the polls.
“There are 537 branches of nationalised, 138 of private, and 165 Grameena and cooperative banks offering services to the public in Guntur. All managers have been asked to strictly follow the EC guidelines.”
In the meantime, the Rural SP instructed sector officers to identify troublemakers in rural areas and put them on surveillance for smooth conduct of free and fair polls. Directing them to identify sensitive areas, the official said data regarding untoward incidents that took place in last elections need to be assessed for enhancement of security.