Armed with court orders, the Mumbai police have started investigation into the seizure of campaign material of the BJP from the premises of United Phosphorous Ltd (UPL) here, an official said Tuesday.
On April 9, a flying squad of the Election Commission (EC) had raided the premises of UPL at suburban Khar, where electronic cards for the BJP's poll campaign were being allegedly assembled.
The returning officer had then issued a show-cause notice to the company.
Earlier, the Khar police had registered a non- cognisable offence in the case, the official said.
Non-cognisable offence refers to an offence in which the police have no authority to apprehend a person for crime on their own. Under this law, the police require a warrant to arrest an accused and a court's prior approval to begin investigation.
"Now, the police have started investigation in this case after seeking proper permission from the local court under CrPC section 155 (21)", said Sanjay More, senior inspector at the Khar Police station.
The electronic cards, seized by the police and the EC squad, did not have the name of the publisher, he said.
The cards had the pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the armed forces printed on them, More said.
This was a grave violation of the model code of conduct and all cards worth Rs 6 crore were seized, state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant had told media persons.
The Maharashtra Congress had demanded a CBI inquiry in the matter.
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