Coimbatore: A day after an election flying squad in Ooty seized cash from two groups of tourists from north India after they failed to produce documents to prove its source, the visitors on Thursday confronted the Nilgiris collectorate officials, creating a tense situation.Stating that they were stranded in the hill retreat without any fund to buy food and water, the tourists sought the officials to return their cash. Now that the model code of conduct is in force in Tamil Nadu, election flying squads are seizing cash exceeding Rs50,000 from individuals, if they are not carrying proper supporting documents. “During a routine check in Ooty on Wednesday, the election flying squad seized Rs1.40 lakh from a group of nine tourists from Odisha, and Rs60,000 from a group of seven tourists from Gujarat, as they were not carrying supporting documents,” an official source said. The tourists said they had been unable to procure proper meals since Wednesday night and were struggling to vacate their rooms in the absence of any cash. They also said none of them were carrying cash exceeding Rs50,000. “Each one of us was carrying around Rs30,000-Rs40,000. The cash – Rs1.40 lakh – was not seized from an individual. Sometimes online transactions won’t work due to poor connectivity issues. That’s why we were carrying liquid cash,” said Deepanand, a tourist from Odisha. The source said the affected tourists were taken to the revenue divisional officer’s office, where an inquiry was conducted. “After the verification of relevant documents, steps will be taken to return the seized cash.”
