Pune: On Monday night, the rural police in Pune emerged successful in arresting an Innova Crysta vehicle with unaccounted ₹5 crore at the Khed Shivapur toll post. The car with the number of registration MH 45 AS 2526 was arrested and confiscated; a large amount of money was found. From the police account, the driver of the car was alleged to have said the money was for a politician of the ruling party in Sangola. It took place in the area of police station Rajgad.
The Pune Superintendent of Police, Pankaj Deshmukh, had something to say on the issue, saying “As far as the cash seized tonight is concerned, the details are still being ascertained. Additionally, more details will be released as the probe continues.” The seizure has brought some cultural issues regarding the credibility of the proceeds especially in regard to the political stunt made by the driver.
This led to another section, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, responding using social media platform X, which was formerly known as Twitter. He tweeted, “₹5 crore of unaccounted cash found in a car at Khed Shivapur toll booth. Who is the MLA? Mindhe (referring to CM Eknath Shinde) is giving ₹75 crore to each candidate, and ₹15 crore is the first amount.” This has placed a political spin on the event, saying that the matter is possibly related to some electoral malpractice.
The incident took place at a time when the model code of conduct for the assembly elections in the state, due to be held on November 20, was enforced on October 15. Therefore, police and election authorities have become very sensitive about the issue to avoid any wrongdoing. This is because the lifting of bodies that enhance electoral laws amidst this sees unaccounted cash in its increased scrutiny of the election process, which has left a controversy on the role played by money in the election process. More research is still being conducted to establish where the money was obtained and for what purpose it was going to be used.
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