Munish Moudgil, Special Officer (Enforcement) of the Election Commission, has written to the Chief Electoral Officer, stressing the need for an investigation into a “serious” case of alleged misuse of a police vehicle for carrying money during the elections in Hassan.
Mr. Moudgil, in his letter dated April 20, said that a flying squad recovered ₹1.2 lakh from a vehicle on information by the Income Tax team on April 16. Later, the squad filed a case of “undue influence” with Holenarsipur Town police station.
The vehicle belongs to Bengaluru city police and is registered in the name of Deputy Commissioner of Police CAR, headquarter, Bengaluru, Mr. Moudgil said. “The above incident is extremely serious as it, prima facie, reveals the use of police vehicle for carrying money for misuse in elections,” he said in the letter.
The case requires proper investigation and everyone, including the police officers who might be involved, must be brought out, he said. The officer suggested that it be investigated by an independent team and supervised by a senior police officer of “impeccable integrity and credentials”.
The flying squad had recovered cash from the vehicle, parked near Channambika theatre in Holenarsipur. An FIR was also registered. The BJP leaders had alleged that the money belonged to JD(S) leaders and they misused the official vehicle to carry cash.