I-T dept on trail of suspicious Rs 25 lakh in Punjab bypoll

Income Tax department has begun probing the trail of Rs 25 lakh cash which was today intercepted by an Election Commission team deployed to oversee bypolls in the Moga Assembly constituency of Punjab. Sources said a team of EC-appointed officials intercepted a person in Moga district who was carrying Rs 25 lakh but did not seize the cash acting under the new orders of the Supreme Court which had stipulated that cash should only be seized if it belongs to any political party or candidate. "The I-T department has been informed by state Election Commission officials about interception of the said amount of cash in the constituency which is set to go to polls soon," a senior official said. The department has begun a probe in the case to find out if the cash was being transported for some poll-related expenses, they said. The person who was carrying the cash identified himself as an advocate and said he got the cash from the proceeds of sale of a property, they said. The I-T office in Chandigarh has also sent a report in this regard to the Central Board of Direct Taxes in Delhi. Bypoll in Moga is scheduled for February 23. The seat fell vacant after the sitting Congress member quit to join SAD.