Nearly 2,600 kg of drugs worth Rs 18.26 crore were seized in Punjab as the state voted on Saturday, the Election Commission said. According to Deputy Election Commissioner Sandeep Saxena, authorities had also confiscated Rs 58.02 crore in cash and 12.43 lakh litres of liquor worth Rs 13.34 crore in the state, IANS reported.
Around 164 kg of gold and 26.5 kg of silver worth Rs 26.04 were also seized in Punjab, and officials had identified 55 cases of paid news published in the run-up to the elections, Saxena said.
Only one incident of violence was reported from Taran Taran, where an individual was injured after two groups of political workers clashed. Police had arrested one of those responsible for the incident and are on the lookout for the other accused, the deputy commissioner said.
Meanwhile, six kg of drugs worth Rs 34 lakh and 75,000 litres of alcohol valued at Rs 1 crore was seized in Goa as it went to the polls on Saturday, Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha said. State authorities also seized 58.19 kg of precious metals and 175 wrist watches worth Rs 55.55 lakh, he added.
Punjab and Goa were the first states to vote in the 2017 Assembly polls. While Goa is currently ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party with Laxmikant Pareskar as chief minister, Punjab has a Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government with Parkash Singh Badal heading the state. Goa recorded an 83% voter turnout at polling stations on Saturday, whereas Punjab saw 78% of the electorate exercising its franchise. Votes will be counted and results declared on March 11.
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