Tue Nov 19 00:35:17 UTC 2024: ## Election Officials Seize Over ₹1082 Crore in Jharkhand and Maharashtra By-Elections
**New Delhi:** The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Monday that it has seized assets worth over ₹1082 crore during by-elections in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and other constituencies. This amount is a staggering seven times higher than the seizures made during the 2019 Assembly elections in these two states combined.
The ECI reported that ₹858 crore worth of cash, liquor, drugs, and other inducements were seized in Maharashtra and Jharkhand alone. In comparison, seizures during the 2019 Assembly elections totaled ₹103.61 crore in Maharashtra and ₹18.76 crore in Jharkhand.
Significant seizures in Maharashtra included ₹3.70 crore in cash from a jeep in Palghar district, 4,500 kg of cannabis worth ₹4.51 crore in Buldhana district, and silver articles valued at ₹5.20 crore in Raigad district. Authorities reported a higher number of cases across all districts compared to previous Assembly elections.
Jharkhand also saw record seizures, with a focus on curbing illegal mining activities. This resulted in the confiscation of mining materials and equipment, including a single instance where ₹2.26 crore worth of illegal mining material was seized in Sahibganj district. Strict vigilance against drug trafficking from neighboring states also led to seizures such as 687 kg of poppy straw in Daltoganj and 48.18 kg of cannabis in Hazaribagh. The ECI attributes the increased seizures to enhanced monitoring and proactive enforcement.
First Piper 