By Sachin Murdeshwar

“In order to encourage the residents of Mumbai to contribute to the process of ensuring clean and fair elections, a 24X7 Control Room has been established by Income Tax Department, Mumbai. To report any movement of cash or valuables likely / suspected to be used for electoral purposes, the residents can contact the Toll Free Number 1800221510. What is vital is that the information received is credible and actionable.”

This was stated by the Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), Shri K. K.  Vyawahare in Mumbai today, during a press conference on poll preparedness for General Elections 2019.

Responding to a query, the DG added that callers to the control room need not disclose any personal details, such as name or other details of identity.  In addition to the toll free number, citizens can report cases requiring investigation at the landline number 022-22820562, mobile / Whatsapp number 9372727823/24, and also by email at [email protected].

Speaking on the system put in place for responding to intelligence received, Shri Vyawahare said:

“A number of measures have been taken by the Income Tax Department towards fulfilling its mandate for ensuring free and fair elections.

The Department has put in place a robust three-tiered system for checking the use of black money and valuables for electoral purposes. There is one Nodal Officer for Election Expenditure who will interface with the Election Commission of India; Expenditure Officers and six sub-nodal officers too have been deputed.

For swift and quick response to any intelligence / actionable information received, Six Quick Response Teams (QRT) – one for each of the six parliamentary constituencies of Mumbai –have been deployed. The QRTs are extremely quick during the election process; they are able to reach the location within an hour of receipt of information and conclude the process in around 6-7 hours.

In total, around 200 officers and officials have been deputed for undertaking investigation for the six parliamentary constituencies of Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban districts. Manpower is not a constraint; additional staff will be deployed as necessitated by the volume of intelligence received. The deployments will be augmented once nominations are filed.

In addition to the above, Air Intelligence Units have been stationed at all the Air Bases of Mumbai – namely Mumbai International Airport, Mumbai Domestic Airport, Juhu airport and  Vakola  – to keep a strict vigil over any movement of cash.

A Standard Operating Procedure is in place, which is followed for responding to different types of information. The Income Tax Department, Mumbai is also closely coordinating with other state and Central agencies so as to gather actionable information and take necessary steps to ensure that the elections are conducted in a free and fair manner.”

The DG made an appeal to the citizens to proactively make use of the facilities of the Department and provide inputs relating to movement of cash and valuables, and contribute towards ensuring free & fair Lok Sabha Elections 2019. He requested the media to contribute to the election process, by making maximum people aware of the above facilities.

Responding to a question on rewards given to informers, the DG said that while there is a laid-down process and a form which needs to be filled for getting rewards, it has been found that people generally do not give information for getting rewards.

The above functions are being performed by the Department in fulfillment of the mandate entrusted to it by the Election Commission of India, namely “To gather intelligence and keep strict watch over movement of cash and valuables in the constituency and take necessary action under IT Laws”.

Contribution by the residents of Mumbai would further help the process of gathering actionable information and help curb the use of unlawful means to influence the election process in the constituencies of Mumbai.