Poll code violation: 131 FIRs lodged, 3 lakh posters removed in Delhi

The Delhi Police has lodged 131 FIRs for defacement of public property even as over three lakh hoardings, banners and posters of political parties have been removed from various parts of the national capital, officials said Monday.

An FIR and two non-cognisable reports were lodged after the flying squads of Chief Electoral Office, Delhi found posters of political parties being carried in cars without due permission, they said.

Till date, 3,05,546 hoardings/banners/posters have been removed from all over Delhi. Out of which, 30,533 were removed from New Delhi Municipal Council, 43,075 from East Delhi Municipal Corporation, 2,411 from Delhi Cantonment Board, 1,26,566 from South Delhi Municipal Corporation and 1,02,961 from North Delhi Municipal Corporation, respectively, Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said.

Under the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 131 FIRs were registered, including 26 against political parties.

These include 13 FIRs against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), nine against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two against Congress and two against others. The rest of the FIRs were filed against non-political entities, officials said.

An FIR was lodged at Chhawla police station after a car carrying posters, scarves and banners of BJP was intercepted by the Delhi poll body's static surveillance team, they said.

Two non-cognisable reports (NCRs) were lodged in Shahdara police district. One of them was lodged after a car was found carrying 17 bundles of posters of Samajwadi Party (SP) in Shahdara on Monday. Later, the driver led the police to the printing press where the bundles were being printed and three more bundles were seized from there, police said.

The other non-cognisable report was lodged when a cab was found plying with banners of BJP without permission, they said.

A total of 1,361 bottles, 91 half and 1,24,849 quarters of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) along with 804 bottles, 1,095 half and 2,49,020 quarters of countrymade liquor were seized. A total of 5,831 bottles of beer were also seized, officials said.

A total number of 856 FlRs were registered under the Excise Act and 851 persons arrested in this connection, they said.

As many as 316 FlRs were registered under the Arms Act wherein 358 persons were arrested and 1,320.84 kilograms of narcotics/drugs seized.

Till date, cash worth Rs 2,40,22,850 has been seized by the static surveillance and flying squad teams. Apart from this, 430 unlicensed weapons and 2,578 cartridges and explosives were also seized by the authorities, they said.

Narcotics worth Rs 348 crore were seized, while the total seizure, including cash and jewellery, is worth Rs 388 crore.

Meanwhile, the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) of the Delhi poll body received 242 applications for clearing advertisements, out of which, 205 have been cleared, 17 rejected and 20 are pending, the officials said.

The BJP had submitted 158 applications, Congress 66 and AAP 16 applications, they added.