An attempt by some people to smuggle wads of currency notes in the bonnet of an Innova car to bribe voters ended in a disaster as the engine of the vehicle caught fire and the currency notes were reduced to ashes.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar lal told the media on Wednesday that the incident occurred at Janagam cross road of Nalgo-nda district. The Innova car had the sticker of Uttam Kumar Reddy, Congress candidate in Assembly election. The police suspect that the money was meant for distribution among voters.
“We have ordered a probe into the matter,” Bhanwar lal said, adding that a huge amount of Rs 2.5 crore was allegedly hidden in the bonnet. As soon as the engine caught fire, four occupants of the car stopped it and transported the remaining currency notes to another vehicle and escaped, witnesses told the police.
This is the latest in the series of seizure of cash, gold, silver and liquor in the State ahead of polls. Officials said that search operations have so far yielded an unaccounted cash of more than Rs 120 crore. In another incident, the police seized silver ornaments weighing 9 kgs from a private bus.
The ornaments were being brought from Chennai to Guntur when the police stopped the bus and searched it at Tunaturu toll gate in Prakasham district on Wednesday morning. Police suspect that the ornaments were meant for distributing among women voters.
