Agartala (Tripura) [India], April 16 (HBTV): The chief electoral officer of Tripura Puneet Agarwal on Tuesday said that as many as 13 officials have been placed under suspension while contraband and cash worth a total value of INR 26 crore have been seized.  

The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the Loka Sabha elections is in force.   

Agarwal informed that his office had received 62 complaints regarding various malpractices prohibited under the Model Code of Conduct.   

‘59 out of the 62 complaints are already disposed of. In this course of action, 13 government officials have been placed under suspension. Six of them were from the education department, five officials were associated with security forces, one official was with the health department; and one, Gramin Rojgar Sevak, was suspended on a temporary basis after allegations of MCC violation and negligence of duty were proven,’ Agarwal told media persons.    

The official said that unaccounted cash and contraband items having total value of INR 26 crore were seized after the MCC came into force.

Agarwal said, ‘Around 23 crore of the seized materials are drugs. Illicit liquor worth INR 2.5 crore was seized after the poll curbs were enforced. The value of unaccounted cash stands near INR 60 lakh. Most seizures have been carried out by the Police and Income Tax department.’

Given the nearing polls, the CEO informed that complaint redress officers have been appointed for each of the sixty assembly segments.          

"Their names and contacts have been shared widely through different media outlets to make sure that people can contact them in need. These officers are empowered to initiate an investigation once a complaint is received. This is an additional mechanism apart from the existing processes available for complaining, such as the cVigil application, grievance service portal, and physical submission of a written complaint," Agarwal added.   

(ANI) This is a syndicated news feed. HBTV has edited it for clarity.