Nagaland: IT department forms poll surveillance teams, launches toll-free numbers to raise complaints

The income tax department has formed surveillance teams, air intelligence units, rail intelligence units and 24x7 control rooms to effectively monitor election expenditures of the candidates and also to curb the use of black money during the election process in Nagaland.

Chief electoral officer (CEO) V Shashank Shekhar, in a release, on Friday, said the surveillance teams have been set up in all the districts in the state, air intelligence units at all commercial airports, including Dimapur airport, 24x7 control room-cum-complaint monitoring cell at Dirnapur, camp office at Circuit House, Kohima and rail intelligence unit at Dimapur railway station.

All airports in the state, major railway stations, hotels, farmhouses, hawala agents, financial brokers, cash couriers, pawn brokers and other suspicious agencies/persons likely to be used for the movement of unaccounted cash during the election process will be kept under close surveillance by the Income Tax Department.

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The public can register complaints on electoral malpractices with 24x7 toll-free numbers at the control room at Dimapur (18003453889) and camp office at Kohima (18003453878), the release said.

Meanwhile, the state-level media certification and monitoring committee held a meeting in regard to monitoring the pre-certification of political advertisements, paid news and social media at the CEO’s office in Kohima on Friday.

The CEO asked the state-level media committee and district-level committee to take responsibility for their powers and function and also examine the norms and procedures according to the ECI guidelines.

Shekhar said all registered national and state political parties and every candidate contesting the election must apply for pre-certification of political advertisement not later than three days prior to the date of the proposed commencement of the telecast of the advertisement.

On the timeline to submit an application for certification, he said in case of any other person or unregistered political parties, it should be no later than seven days prior to the date of the telecast. The committee also decided to organise a workshop on monitoring of electronic, print and social media in the forthcoming elections. 

Further, it was also decided that the committee would meet the political parties from time to time in regard to paid news.