BHUBANESWAR: AS many as 3,445 licensed guns have been deposited with district administrations ahead of the General Elections in Odisha.
The police and enforcement units of Election Commission (EC) have seized 80 unlicensed weapons and 132 kg explosives from different parts of the state. Unaccounted cash of Rs 15 lakh has also been seized by enforcement squads from individuals.
According to the office of State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar, flying squads, static surveillance squads and other teams have been deployed in all constituencies for strict enforcement of the model code of conduct for the elections that will be held in four phases from April 11 to 29.
Officials said 4,153 non-bailable warrants (NBWs) have been issued while squads have detained 20,291 people under IPC 107 and 116 to ensure smooth conduct of elections. They informed that flying squads and police have jointly seized Rs 15.47 lakh cash so far.
As per EC norms people need to have valid documents to carry cash above Rs 50,000 failing which, the money would be seized and returned only after it is proven that it has nothing to do with elections. The Excise squads have also seized over 50,180 litres of liquor which is estimated to be worth around Rs 1.34 crore.
To monitor election related expenditure, the EC has appointed 467 flying squads comprising a senior official, a videographer and four armed police personnel and 453 Static Surveillance Teams (SSTs) comprising one magistrate and three to four police personnel in the state.
Besides, it has formed 260 video surveillance teams, 178 video verifying teams and has appointed 225 assistant expenditure observers.
The Commission has also deployed 147 excise teams to crack down on illegal liquor smuggling.
Meanwhile, CEO has received around 295 calls related to poll irregularities from various areas. Around 11, 423 people have also called voter-helpline number 1950 to get assistance.
Besides, the commission has received 285 complaints through the C-Vigil app of which 264 have been resolved, an official said.