Panaji, Jan 16 (IANS) Large cash withdrawals from banks in Goa are being monitored and the Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to take steps against money withdrawls from banks with the possible intention of bribing voters, a poll official said Monday.

Speaking to reporters, state chief electoral officer (CEO) S. Kumaraswamy said that every withdrawal upwards of Rs.2.5 lakh from banks was being monitored in view of the election commission’s guidelines.

“We are talking to banks about it. The moment a withdrawal above Rs.2.5 lakh is made, it is monitored both by bank officials and income tax department,” he said.

He also said that border checkpoints were also being sensitised to intercept the flow of liquor and other contraband as well as large amounts of illicit cash, which could be used to influence voters during elections.

“Border checkposts have already been alerted. We are working on motivating the election staff too,” Kumaraswamy said.

The ECI on Thursday wrote to the RBI to ensure banks were not “misused by unscrupulous persons” for influencing voters with cash.

The ECI communication followed an incident earlier that week (Jan 9) when the Income Tax department officials seized cash of Rs.12.38 crore withdrawn from a bank at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.