COIMBATORE: Cash carried by two groups of tourists from Kolkata and Punjab, who were on their way to Ooty, was seized by flying squads in Coimbatore and Nilgiris respectively on Monday morning on the grounds that they did not have supporting documents as mandated by the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The tourists had a tough time getting their money back.
In the first incident, a family of five from Kolkata headed by Manodip Ghosh, who is working in a bank, was travelling to Ooty in a taxi. They were detained by election officials at Mettupalayam during a check and Rs 60,000 in their possession was seized.
Ghosh went to the collectorate as per the directions of officials who did not accept his bank statement as proof. “I showed them my bank statement, but they did not accept it. We came from Kolkata for a seven-day trip to Ooty and Coorg. I have kidney related ailments and my wife is a cancer patient, but the officials did not allow us. They told us to visit the collectorate to get back the money,” Ghosh told TNIE while waiting at the collectorate. He eventually got his money back from the Mettupalayam Taluk office in the evening.
Similarly, Rs 69,000 was seized from a couple from Punjab during a vehicle check at Coonoor. They were on a tour to Ooty with their two children. The couple waited till Monday evening to get the money back as election officials in Nilgiris collectorate were busy as BJP minister Murugan arrived there to file his nomination.