Maharashtra polls: Prevent inflow of illicit liquor, ECI tells excise officials

Chief election commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on Friday pulled up Maharashtra excise officials and directed them to stop the flow of illicit liquor into the state from neighbouring areas ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls, sources said.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) team — including the CEC and election commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu — is in Maharashtra to review preparedness for the forthcoming Assembly polls. The term of the current state Assembly ends on 26 November.

The CEC asked the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to keep a strict eye on the interstate movement of drugs, and wondered how narcotics were still available.

"In the recent Lok Sabha polls, we seized drugs worth Rs 4,500 crore. Don't break the momentum. Ensure strict vigil on critical routes," Kumar told NCB officials.

The ECI also pressed for enhanced intelligence sharing between agencies, including the RPF (Railway Protection Force).

It also directed the enforcement agencies to ensure that helicopters of all leaders and star campaigners are checked as per protocol without fear or favour.

Urging the agencies to devise new measures to check inflow of inducements, the EC said police vans and ambulances should not be allowed to ferry black money.

It told banks to transfer money only during designated hours in designated vehicles and prohibit movement after sunset.