Thiruvananthapuram: A voter who came to cast his franchise at Booth 112 at Machel LP School in Malayinkeezhu Panchayat received a bundle of Rs 51,000 from near the polling booth. The person who received this money is a native of Machel, and he found the bundle of cash while standing in the queue to vote at 8.30 am on Friday.

The man noticed a packet lying on the floor near the doorstep of the booth, and upon opening it, he found 101 notes of Rs 500, one note of Rs 200, and three notes of Rs 100 each stacked together and tied with a rubber band. The person handed over the money to panchayat member Anil Kumar, who reached the spot upon receiving the information. The Malayinkeezhu police and the statistical surveillance team, who were also election inspectors, arrived at the scene.

The surveillance team, after a preliminary examination, handed over the amount to the Malayinkeezhu sub-treasury. Although the CCTV footage of the school was reviewed, nothing unusual was found. This money is likely lost by someone, but none of the claimants have been contacted yet, according to the investigation team.