Over 32,000 liquor bottles seized in Patiala

Chandigarh, Jan 22 (PTI) Ahead of the polls, an unauthorized stock of over 32,000 bottles of liquor was seized by a joint team of the Punjab excise department and police during a raid at three residential places in Patiala, officials said on Saturday.

During the operation, 2,718 cases of liquor (12 bottles per case) were found stored in different places which were not authorized for storage, they said.

A case was registered against three accused identified as Lalit Singla, Keshav Singla and Umesh Sharma. The unauthorised stock of liquor was stored at their residential premises, said Punjab excise commissioner Rajat Agarwal.

Punjab's 117 assembly seats will go to the polls on February 20.

Meanwhile, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Punjab, S Karuna Raju said the Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched a mobile application 'Know Your Candidate' for electors to know the particulars and criminal antecedents of any candidate.

He said it is mandatory for political parties to publish why candidates with criminal records are selected for election.

Urging the voters of the state to download the app, Raju said the mobile app has been developed to provide wide publicity and greater awareness regarding criminal antecedents of contesting candidates to ensure transparent election.

He directed the returning officers to ensure that the right document is uploaded on the app.

Raju further said one of the mobile apps launched by the ECI is 'Suvidha App', a single window system for both candidates and political parties to apply for permissions before conducting meetings, rallies, etc. PTI CHS CK