Cash, jewellery seizures get close, personal in poll-bound Telangana

- A businessman from Kondapur, planning to go on a week-long vacation, took his gold jewellery to a bank to deposit it in his locker. At the bank, he was intercepted by men in plain clothes who claimed to be from the police who confiscated the jewellery. They forced him to sign a receipt which stated that the seizure was done at a nearby checkpoint.

- A realtor from Shadnagar had gone to the registration office with cash. The police seized the money. He can get the money back only after the elections.

Hyderabad: Under the garb the model code of conduct, under which unaccounted cash and expensive articles have to be seized to ensure free, fair and clean elections, the police were harassing the common people, said city residents.

Despite repeated complaints to senior police officials and those of the Election Commission, the police have kept seizing cash and jewellery. The police appears to be exceeding the mandate of the code of conduct, the residents said.

The businessman from Kondapur told Deccan Chronicle, whose gold was confiscated within the bank premises, said: “We had purchased the jewellery long ago. Where do we get the documents now? Moreover, I was shocked when they stopped me in the bank premises and forced me to sign the receipt stating that they had made the seizure elsewhere. I do not understand what kind of policing is this.”

A woman resident said they had been saving small quantities of gold for an upcoming wedding. “When we were taking it to the jeweller for placing an order, the gold was seized. We were saving it years, how do we get the documents now,” she questioned.

This is also the story of several traders, liquor shops, owners of small businesses, particularly in the unorganised sector.  “They are conducting checks near business areas, wine shops, banks, registration offices and seizing money. Even where there are chances of documents to be produced in an hour or so too, they are seizing money,” said a trader from Ameerpet.

A jewellery store owner from Ameerpet said that the police make tall claims of seizing tons of cash and jewellery, but none of them belong to any politician. “ They leave aside big fishes and show their power to common people like us,” he said.

The police top brass have remained tight-lipped on the seizures and the way they are affected every day.