Tamil Nadu Assembly elections | Income Tax Department deploys 650 officials to monitor movement of cash
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The Income Tax Department has deployed over 650 of its officials to monitor the movement of cash and different property forward the Assembly election in Tamil Nadu.
A 20-member group, headed by an officer of the rank of Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner, can be assigned to every district. Special fast motion groups have been deployed to monitor delicate constituencies the place largescale cash distribution is suspected.
Rapid motion groups
“Going by the previous election, we have identified 20 sensitive constituencies, where additional manpower will be deployed,” stated P.S. Sivasankaran, Additional Director of Income Tax (Investigation), Chennai. He informed The Puucho on Wednesday: “The special rapid action teams will also be used for action against specific groups. For instance, if we receive information about a specific group and we need to search multiple locations simultaneously, this team will be used.”
A sea intelligence unit has been fashioned, for the primary time, on the Kamarajar Port. “This is for monitoring goods and other items that are coming in through the port,” he stated.
Temporary air intelligence items have additionally been established in Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem and Tiruchi. The Chennai airport has an air intelligence unit that features repeatedly, and “we have scaled up our resources there,” Mr. Sivasankaran stated. “We have also requested for details of private jets and helicopters coming into the State. This information needs to be given before landing [for surprise checks].”
During the 2016 Assembly election, the Income Tax Department seized ₹31.74 crore in cash. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, it seized ₹80.5 crore in cash and valuables price ₹1.09 crore.
A management room has been established on the Investigation Wing of the Income Tax Department, which is functioning around the clock in 4 shifts. Teams working there are disseminating the knowledge shared by the general public and others.
Mr. Sivasankaran stated the largest problem was ambiguous calls.
“At times, the information is not specific; it is based on political or business rivalry. In the previous elections, there were instances of people having called us up to divert our attention. Around 20% of the calls and the information given are genuine,” he stated.
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