Over one lakh of complaints filed with West Bengal CEO since March 16

Kolkata: The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in West Bengal has received as many as 1,27,726 complaints in the first four days since the Model Code of Conduct came into force on March 16.

Most of these complaints are related to the violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), according to Additional Electoral Officer, Arindam Niyogi.

Speaking to mediapersons on Wednesday, Niyogi said that of the three Lok Sabha constituencies that will go to the polls in the first phase on April 19 -- Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, and Jalpaiguri -- maximum complaints have been received from Cooch Behar at 5,726.

"The number of complaints received from Alipurduar is 3,458, while the figures for Jalpaiguri are 1,923,” Niyogi added.

He also informed that from March 1 till date, properties worth Rs 81.21 crore have been confiscated by different state and Central agencies.

Meanwhile, a source in the CEO's office said that the poll panel has also directed the concerned officials to keep a close watch on the vehicles carrying cash for refilling ATMs.

“This is part of the Commission's endeavour to check the use of money power in elections,” he added.

Different banks have also been instructed to bring to the notice of the Commission any suspicious transactions, especially high-value withdrawals and deposits.