Rs 38 L seized from house of local body poll candidate

Acting on a tip off from the police personnel, the squad led by Jamal Mohamed made the seizure from the house of Rani Ammal, who is contesting for the post of president to Mandalamanickam village in the ensuing local body elections. Apart from Rs 38,67,300 in cash, the squad also seized as many as 1,192 liquor bottles kept in the house. The cash and liquor bottles could have been kept for distribution to voters, sources said.

According to the preliminary investigations, Rani Ammal, wife of Dharmalingam, is contesting the ensuing local body polls to Mandalamanickam village that comes under Kamuthi panchayat union, for the post of president.

When contacted, Superintendent of Police RV Varun Kumar said the special helpline setup by the police received a tipoff. Based on that, search operations were conducted in Rani Ammal’s house after informing the flying squad team, and seized the unaccounted cash found there.

The special helpline number was formed in November. In just a month since then, the special helpline has received hundreds of calls, said the SP, adding that they have taken follow up action accordingly. The helpline stickers have been stuck on several localities, including crowded places, schools and on the premises of taluk offices, urging the public to tipoff on supply of cash or other materials, the officer added.