Jammu, September 14: Maintaining the sanctity of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, Chief Electoral Officer Pandurang K Pole on Saturday called for ensuring free and fair elections and effective sealing.
The CEO convened a meeting of 22 law enforcement agencies at Nirvachan Bhawan, the railway hub complex here and urged the agencies to ensure strict surveillance of all entry and exit points of Jammu and Srinagar airports.
In order to implement strict surveillance, he issued instructions to monitor the activities of inter-state check posts and border check posts throughout the union territory.
The CEO also directed all financial institutions including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and UTLBC to strictly monitor suspicious digital transactions of banks and directed these institutions to refer such transactions to the Income Tax Department for appropriate action as per established financial regulations.
Referring to the guidelines laid down by the Election Commission of India (ECI), he asked the Excise Department of Jammu and Kashmir to ensure strict implementation of all restrictions in the Excise Act regarding storage of liquor in unlicensed premises.
“The GST Act should be vigorously enforced within 48 hours before the closing time of polls as stipulated in the guidelines laid down by the Election Commission,” the CEO said.
He also directed the Excise department to ensure strict implementation of restrictions on dry days.
In order to curb the cultivation of opium and marijuana, the CEO asked the excise department to avail the services of loggers and guards in hotspot villages in Jammu and Kashmir.
He also directed the excise department to launch special drives to bust illegal distillery factories, destroy illicit liquor and establish backward linkage for liquor seized in neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Ladakh.
The meeting was attended by Additional CEO Rahul Sharma, Special Secretary Nirupa Rai, key officials of expenditure monitoring in Jammu and Kashmir and Additional Secretary Huma Khan.
The agencies have given great importance to inter-agency coordination, emphasising on prompt action and seizure of giveaways such as drugs, liquor and cash meant to attract voters around 72 hours before the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the meeting also discussed the sealing of various agencies since the announcement of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections and asked all agencies to intensify efforts to ensure effective sealing during the election process in compliance with the ECI guidelines for conducting free and fair elections.
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