DITI to monitor poll expenditures in NE states

Agartala, March 21 (IANS) ) The Directorate of Income Tax Investigation (DITI) has appointed 160 officials to monitor expenditure of political parties and candidates during the Lok Sabha polls in the seven northeastern states, an official release said here on Thursday.

"Following the directions of the Election Commission and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the DITI's North-East Circle last week assigned 160 officials to examine expenditure of political parties and candidates in the elections in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura," the official release said.

The Election Commission has requisitioned the services of 160 officials under Article 324 of the Constitution, it added.

Teams of officers and inspectors have been stationed as surveillance squads at expenditure-sensitive locations across the seven states.

"The DITI has also activated air intelligence units at all commercial airports in the northeastern region. Important railway stations are also under discrete watch," the release said.

A number of seizures has taken place in different places of the North-East in the past one week of deployment of these officials.

The release said the DITI is working in close coordination with chief electoral officers, the police, banks, central armed police forces of the seven states.

"The officials are placed in a state of high alert during the election process. They are closely monitoring suspicious transactions of high amounts from banks.

Banks and district election officers (District Magistrates or Divisional Commissioner) have been asked to inform DITI of all withdrawals in excess of Rs 10 lakh for the officials to take prompt action under relevant laws," the release added.

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