Income Tax department launches black money complaint centre ahead of Delhi polls

The Income Tax department has set up a toll-free control room for the general public to alert it about any suspicious movement of "large sums of cash" in the national capital in the run up to the Assembly polls. 

The investigation wing of the department has set up a control room and complaint monitoring cell at its office here on the instructions of the Election Commission (EC) which wants to curb the use of black money and illegal inducements in the poll process. 

The toll-free number--1800110132-- will be monitored round-the-clock and will be supervised by a senior officer in the rank of Joint Director (I-T), a senior official said. 

The department has also put together a team of chosen sleuths who will be monitoring black money related instances with special emphasis on the measures deployed for the election period, a senior I-T officer said. 

Complaints or information regarding movement of large sums of cash and other items suspected to be used for bribing voters during elections will be monitored from the Centre, the officer said. 

The EC has created an Election Expenditure Monitoring cell within its establishment to monitor illegal money and other such bribes to voters during polls, few years back. 

The I-T department is a part of this mechanism. Delhi will vote for its 70 constituencies on February 7 and the counting of votes will take place on February 10. (Economic Times)