IT to monitor movement of black money during Rajasthan bypolls

JAIPUR: As per directions of Election Commission of India, the Income Tax department in Rajasthan has geared up to monitor the movement of black money in the forthcoming bypolls in the state, a senior official of Investigation Directorate said.

For this purpose, 8 Verification Cells (VC) have been formed, two for each of the four constituencies going to polls.

Each VC includes one Income Tax Officer and two Inspectors, the official said.

These VCs will closely monitor the movement of unaccounted cash and bullion within their jurisdictional districts.

They will be supervised by Sub Nodal Officers of the rank of Deputy Directors of Income Tax (Investigation).

Further, the Air Intelligence Unit at Jaipur Airport, which is the most proximate airport to all the four constituencies, has been instructed to be on constant vigil during election notification period to keep a close watch on suspicious movement of cash and bullion on regular and chartered flights.

The Railway Protection Force ( RPF) has also been requested to keep watch on the transport of cash exceeding Rs 10 lakhs and gold bullion/jewellery weighing one kilogram or more through railways during the election notification period, and to inform the Income Tax department immediately upon such detections.

The banks in concerned constituencies have also been instructed by the District Election Officers (DEOs) to intimate on a daily basis the information about suspicious cash withdrawals exceeding Rs 10 lakhs.

"The information will be passed on to the concerned Sub-Nodal Officers of IT department for further verification so as to ensure that such cash withdrawals are not being utilised for funding election related malpractices," the official said.

To keep a close watch on black money during election period, a 24x7 Control Room has been established in the Income Tax Department at Jaipur and a Toll free No. 1800-180-6788 has been installed on which the general public may give information related to suspicious movement of black money during election period.

Bypolls will be held in Surajgarh (Jhunjunu), Nasirabad (Ajmer), Weir (Bharatpur), and Kota (South) in Kota on September 13.