Rs 12.30 lakh seized from political party worker

Jharsuguda: With the Panchayat polls only four days away, police today seized Rs 12.30 lakh from the house of a worker of a political party in Kandheikela village.

Talking to the media, Jharsuguda SP Uma Shankar Das said the police, acting on the allegation, raided the house of Debaraj Barik, worker of a political party in Kandheikela village today and  seized hard cash of Rs 12.30 lakh.

“As Barik could not give satisfactory reply on the cash he had kept in his house and for what purpose he had kept the cash with him, police are investigating into the case,” the SP added.

Asked about the incident, secretary of State Election Commission (SEC) Rabindranath Sahu said the Commission has earlier received a report from Jharsuguda district and will receive another report from the district tonight.

“The Commission has sent such allegations to the district collectors and SPs and taken necessary action,” Sahu added.

With the model code of conduct enforced in Odisha for the panchayat polls, SEC has instructed the collectors and SPs to take stern action against anyone involved in distribution of cash among the voters during the election.