Munugode poll: Rs 1 crore cash seized from vehicle used by BJP

The Telangana police seized Rs 1 crore from a car on Monday, October 17, which was on its way to Munugode, where a bye-election is scheduled to take place on November 3. The cash seizure happened at Chelmeda crossroad which is at the entrance to Munugode. A Tata Safari was stopped and money was found openly stashed in the boot.

While initial questioning by the police revealed nothing, on further investigation, the police were able to find out that the car came from Guntur and was heading to Munugode. The husband of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator from Karimnagar was carrying the cash on the instructions of Vivek Venkataswamy, who is the BJP Munugode steering committee chairperson. He had no documents to prove the source of money, and the cash has been sent to the Income Tax department.

Speaking to TNM, the Nalgonda Superintendent of Police (SP) said, "Apart from the integrated check points, we have established dynamic checkposts that have been deployed at inlet points towards Munugode." He added that surprise checks are being conducted at several places.

While Rs 1 crore was seized on Monday, the Telangana police have seized more than Rs 24 lakh so far. Apart from that, they have also caught alcohol worth more than Rs 2 lakh. The Telangana State Excise Department has seized about 70 litres of alcohol till date.

For the upcoming Munugode bye-election, the Congress party nominated Palwai Sravanthi Reddy while the BJP picked Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy. Rajagopal Reddy had exited the Congress party and resigned from his post as the Munugode MLA in August 2022. His resignation necessitated the bye-election in Munugode.