EC’s drive against illegal arms in poll-bound Assam bears fruit

Guwahati: Fifty-seven illegal arms and 172 rounds of ammunition have been recovered in poll-bound Assam so far in a sustained drive conducted at the instance of the Election Commission.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Nitin Khade on Tuesday informedthat out of 32237 licensed arms in the state, 23323 have been deposited so far, while action against 868 trouble mongers has been initiated and 1479 nonbailable warrants executed since announcement of election earlier this month.
The official said 631 vulnerable hamlets have been identified so far and 1913 polling stations in the state marked critical. Over Rs 60 lakh in cash and nearly 1.80 lakh litres of illicit liquor have been seized in Assam within 10 days of enforcement of model code of conduct.
Khade said, “We are taking all steps to ensure adherence to model code of conduct guidelines as set by the Election Commission.” He said 355 teams have been formed for enforcing MCC, 361 static surveillance teams, 394 flying squads and 324 check posts.
Altogether Rs 6034188 has been seized in cash so far and 179853 litres of illicit liquor seized. He added that media certification committees have been formed for approving advertisements and messages by political parties before broadcast or sent through SMS.  “We are ensuring that there is no use of money or muscle power in the election,” Khade added. Election to 126 Assam Assembly constituencies is being held in two phases on April 4 and 11 next.