Bhubaneswar: To ensure free and fair elections, the state excise police along with the state police have raided several places in the state and seized huge quantity of brown sugar and country liquor as well as India Made Foreign Liquor(IMFL).

The state excise principal secretary Nikunja Bihari Dhal Monday said that the joint team have conducted raids and seized 4.5 kg brown sugar, 1.32 lakh liters of country liquor and 27,000 liters of IMFL. It has also destroyed 1.37 crore cannabis plants illegally cultivated over an area of 11,627 acres of land. In this connections 8969 cases have been registered and 2140 persons have been arrested, said Dhal.

The excise principal secretary who is also the state revenue & disaster management principal secretary said that adequate steps have been taken to make the elections free of liquor and other narcotics substances. For this intelligence has been strengthened and the boarders have been sealed, he added.

The matter was discussed at a high level meeting chaired by chief secretary AP Padhi. Among other the development commissioner Asit Tripathy, home special secretary Santosh Bala were present.