Tourists continue to be the most affected by the seizure of cash by flying squad officials in the Nilgiris.
On Monday, videos of a family from Punjab, who were visiting the Nilgiris, went viral after one of them broke down in tears when flying squad personnel seized ₹ 69,400 in cash from them. After much outrage from local residents, the money was returned to the family on Monday evening by election officials from the Nilgiris.
However, tourists as well as members of the public continue to fall foul of the election rules, with tourists from Nagpur in Maharashtra as well as from Gujarat reaching the Collector’s office trying to get money seized by flying squad officials released.
Speaking to The Hindu, one tourist from Nagpur said that ₹ 1 lakh in cash was seized by flying squad officials from her and her family on Monday. “We have been sitting here since Tuesday morning trying to get our money back. This is our first visit to the Nilgiris and this experience has left a bad taste in the mouth,” she said.
The tourist said as she spoke only very little English, and knew only mostly Marathi, it was difficult to communicate with officials. “I still don’t know what documents I am supposed to produce to get my money back,” she said.
Another group of tourists from Gujarat, who had ₹ 70,000 seized from them, said that they have to miss their flight, scheduled for Tuesday evening as they needed to get the money seized from them.
It is not only tourists who have been negatively effected by the seizures, but also local businesses. S. Mubarak, (name changed) a lorry driver from Nilambur, was returning home after dropping off some freight in the Nilgiris when he was stopped by flying squad officials. “My money was seized from me over a week ago, but it’s still yet to be returned to me,” he said, at the collectorate, where he was visiting with his wife and child.
When contacted, Returning Officer for the Nilgiris and District Collector, M. Aruna said that there had been awareness campaigns carried out across the country notifying residents to not carry large quantities of cash. “Nowadays, all payments can be made digitally and there is no need for tourists to carry so much money,” said Ms. Aruna, adding that flying squad officials were not “targeting” tourists and were merely doing their duty.
She said that the returns committee, headed by an IAS officer, would return any seized money once adequate documentation is provided. “We have also instructed flying squad members to not speak harshly to tourists and to clearly communicate with them about why the money is being seized,” said Ms. Aruna, who urged tourists to not bring large amounts of cash with them while travelling to the district.
