Nalgonda, Telangana: Ahead of Lok Sabha elections, as part of vehicle checking, Nalgonda police in Telangana seized gold worth ₹ 5.73 crores, officials said.

The gold was seized within the jurisdiction of Miryalguda 1 Town police station limits.

Sudhakar, Station House Officer, Miryalguda 1 Town Police station said, "The gold was being transported from Miryalguda to Khammam in a vehicle. Further details awaited".

In a press conference, Chandana Deept, Superintendent of Police, Nalgonda informed that as part of the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct coming into effect with the announcement of the schedule for Lok Sabha polls earlier in the month, to keep a check to prevent illegal transportation of cash and other valuables to lure the voters, the district police has kept a strict vigil by organising vehicle checkings in large scale, as per an official statement.

In this way, on March 18 at about 11:30 am, a police team led by G Sudhakar - Inspector of Police, found 3 persons proceeding in a vehicle bearing towards Kodad side, the release added.

"When they checked the said vehicle, they found gold worth ₹ 5.73 crores being transported in it illegally in violation of the guidelines of the ECI. As such, as per the complaint lodged by Flying Squad, the respondents and the gold were taken into custody by the police and an investigation was taken up," the release stated.

The ECI has announced various steps to eliminate the misuse of money and muscle power in the general elections in 2024.

Earlier Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar informed that to curb the flow of illicit money, the poll body has held extensive reviews with enforcement agencies.

"Cash movement worth around ₹ 3,400 crore was restricted in the last 11 state assembly elections in Rajasthan, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Tripura," CEC Kumar said.

Mr Kumar also noted that daunting challenges in conducting free and fair elections are "muscle, money, misinformation, and MCC violations" and asserted that the poll panel has put in place measures to deal with these disruptive challenges.