It was around noon that Sidheshi Shiva Kumar, an employee of Balaji Wines in Kacheguda, picked up the daily collection of April 30 and May 1 and all related documents and headed to the State Bank of India, Narayanguda branch, to deposit the money.
As he climbed the steps to enter the bank, two people accosted him. “Why are you carrying such a huge amount? Don’t you know it is election time and you are not supposed to so much money,” one of them asked Shiva Kumar.
The panic-stricken employee tried to show the bank deposit receipt, naukarnama (authorisation letter from the shop) and Election Commission (EC) letter permitting to deposit daily collection but to no avail. Identifying themselves as the EC’s surveillance team, they whisked away Shiva to the local police station notwithstanding the attempts by the bank manager’s contention that the wine shop employee was a regular client, who comes to deposit their collection almost daily.
