From Our Correspondent
TURA: Reports of candidates and certain political parties attempting to woo voters with cash in Garo Hills appears to be true following the dramatic seizure of money to the tune of Rs 1,84,300 from two motorcycle riders and a car belonging to a member of the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council on Tuesday night.
Alert teams of the flying squad deputed by the Election Commission for Tikrikilla under Dadenggre civil sub-division stopped two motorbikes and a Tata Indigo car at around midnight of Tuesday in two separate incidents on the NEC road at Bogadol under Tikrikilla police station.
The first bike (ML-08-B-3840) with one Nishit Sangma of Willimpur was intercepted and his pillion rider Gama Sangma was found to have in his possession a sum of Rs 24,700.
The second bike (ML-08-B-3854) steered by Nemson Sangma of Alokdia and Kanchan Marak as the pillion rider was found to have in their possession a sum of Rs 20,600. Both bikes were moving together through the route when they were halted.
It was found that the money was entirely of Rs 100 note denominations and wrapped in sheets of paper with the names of the villages, head of (Contd on P-4)
GHADC member’s car…
(Contd from P-1) households and the number of voters in each house, clearly indicating that the money was intended to bribe voters ahead of the February 23 election.
The biggest catch of the night was of the vehicle of a sitting GHADC MDC from the same road, leading to seizure of Rs 1,39,000.
The Tata Indigo (ML-08-B-33784) belonging to sitting Independent MDC Ranjit Rabha was found containing the large sum of money without any documentary proof to back up the vehicle occupants’ claims of shipping such an amount in the dead of night during peak election campaign season.
The only claim the MDC made was that the money belonged to his brother and had been brought from Tura for a marriage ceremony. Money from all three cases were confiscated and taken to the treasury office in Dadenggre for safe custody while investigations take place.
It is worth mentioning that there have been complaints from different constituencies and candidates about the use of money and muscle power to garner votes for the upcoming polls. Recently, villagers had narrated stories about night visits by political supporters to deliver cash in exchange for votes in Rangsakona constituency of West Garo Hills District.
The cash seizure in Tikrikilla is the first ever to be recorded in the election history of Garo Hills in recent times.