VIJAYAWADA: With the gram panchayat elections just 10 days away, the Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB), which was formed to curb illegal activities such as liquor smuggling from other States, sand mining and gambling, devised a mechanism to curb cash flow and liquor distribution, and for effective monitoring of the poll process.
As part of the preparation for the gram panchayat elections which are going to be held from February 9 to 21 in four phases, the SEB set up 339 check-posts across the State and deployed officials from excise, police, revenue and other line departments. The SEB also formed 130 mobile parties, which will act as flying squads, to conduct surprise raids on illicit breweries and monitor the activities of previous offenders and criminals.
The mobile parties comprise officials of police, task force and revenue and videographers for recording their activities on a daily basis. They have been entrusted with the task of attending to all complaints of threat and intimidation, track the movement of anti-social elements, curb flow of liquor, arms and ammunition, and cash to bribe the voters.
“Out of 339 check-posts, 50 are operated by the SEB itself and the rest 289 are jointly monitored by the local police and special party police. The check-posts are dynamic and 30 per cent of them were set up in the villages with close proximity to neighbouring States,” SEB Director PHD Ramakrishna told TNIE.
He further said non-duty paid liquor (NDPL) smugglers are adopting new methods to transport liquor from neighbouring States such as Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. “To control liquor flow, all the vehicles entering the State are being checked thoroughly at the border check-posts,” he added.
When asked about the support from villagers to the SEB and police in the conduct of polls, the SEB director said that they are taking measures to check liquor flow from border villages of Telangana State.
“It’s a challenge for the SEB. Besides, we are also monitoring the activities of illicit liquor brewers in the districts. With the help of informers and persons who quit the business under the flagship programme Parivarthana, we are collecting the information and conducting surprise raids in the villages,” he explained.
On the other hand, the SEB officials are monitoring the activities in villages. “Special parties will keep an eye on the villages and respond to the complaints of distribution of cash and liquor and any other illegal activity leading to the violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC). There will be no risk in the villages which are going for unanimous election. The special teams will act tough against those influencing voters by offering money, liquor and other forms of allurement,” Ramakrishna said.
The SEB also set up 18 control rooms in all the police units in the State. They are headed by an ASP rank officer to monitor the activities. The complaints will be automatically routed to the central control room and the information will be shared with the officials concerned.
