“Preliminary enquiry revealed that the money belonged to SBI. But the security guards didn't carry original documents...the incident is being probed," says Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Lakhoni.

Amid high drama, an Election Commission surveillance team in Tirupur chased down and seized three container lorries transporting Rs. 570 crore in cash from the State Bank of India, Coimbatore, on Saturday.

While opposition parties used the incident to level allegations of attempts to bribe voters, Chief Electoral Officer Rajesh Lakhoni cleared the air stating that the State Bank of India had claimed the cash as its property. A senior SBI official confirmed that the cash was meant for Visakhapatnam.

“We have indented it, secured proper permission from the RBI and provided proper escort,” Assistant General Manager M.V.S.S.N. Prasad told The Hindu in Visakhapatnam. A committee of Income Tax, bank and State government officials has been constituted by the Tirupur District Election Officer and Collector to probe the incident.

The Reserve Bank of India is also being consulted.

The DEO said the committee would conclude verification by Sunday evening and the report shall be placed before the Election Observers.

“The security officers accompanying the vehicles, who belonged to Andhra Pradesh, were not in uniform, the documents submitted did not have the vehicle numbers of the container lorry and the date mentioned in the invoice also did not match,” the EC said.

(With inputs from the Visakhapatnam Bureau)