57,516 booked for election code violation: Delhi CEO

As many as 2,583 persons have been arrested and 57,516 others booked for violating model code of conduct ahead of the parliamentary elections, said a senior state Election Commission official on Monday.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi Ranbir Singh said 129 FIRs and daily diary (DD) entries have also been made against various political parties.

"Special teams set up to keep an eye on the expenses of political parties have seized Rs 1.28 crore in cash and 162.86 kg narcotics -- including heroin, ganja and drugs -- worth Rs 87 crore," Ranbir Singh said.

The police have registered 709 FIRs and arrested 707 people under the Excise Act, Singh added.

"257 FIRs have been registered under the Arms Act in which 296 people were arrested. Total 4,151 licensed weapons were deposited and five fire arms were impounded," he said.

The CEO office said they have also seized 364 unlicensed arms and weapons, and 2,445 cartridges and explosives.

"A total of 129 FIRs or DD entries have been made in connection with the violation of model code of conduct. Out of these, 15 are against the Aam Aadmi Party (eight FIRs and seven DD entries), 13 against the Bharatiya Janata Party (nine FIRs and four DD entries), four against the Congress (all DD entries), one against the Bahujan Samaj Party (one DD entry), Samajwadi Party (one DD entry) and 95 against others or non-political (entities)," the CEO office said.

The office of the Delhi CEO said more than 2,80,000 posters, banners and hoardings have been removed since the poll code came into force under the Public Property Defacement Act.

The Delhi CEO said that no MCMC (Media Certification and Monitoring Committee) certification is pending with its office.

As many as 54,082 people have been booked to date under various sections of the IPC and the Delhi Police Act.

"In all, 9,850 non-bailable warrants (NBW) were issued till March 10 out of which 722 were executed, while 2,828 are still pending," Singh said.

"35 persons have been identified for possible threats and legal action is being taken against them," Singh added.

"We are taking initiatives to collaborate with the Indian Railways, Delhi Metro and 1,000 DTC buses for the voters' awareness programmes by putting up message wrappings on these mode of transportation," he said.

The seven-phased Lok Sabha polls will begin on April 11 and continue till May 19. Delhi will vote on May 12 and the overall results will be declared on May 23. - IANS