Kolkata, March 19: Amid the crucial two-phase Assembly elections in West Bengal next month, the state police have recovered a large amount of cash in two locations within the state over the last 12 hours, the police said on Thursday.
One of the two locations is Baruipur in the South 24 Parganas district in South Bengal, and the other is the tribal-dominated Alipurduar district.
Aware of the potential use of illegal cash in the upcoming polls to influence voters, the Election Commission of India (ECI) had already appointed 294 general observers for the state, making West Bengal the only one among the five states and Union Territories going to the polls to have one general observer for each of the 294 Assembly constituencies.
In addition, the ECI had also appointed 188 police observers, the highest among these five states and Union Territories, and 100 expenditure observers, the second-highest on this count.
In Baruipur, a motorcyclist was apprehended by the police during a routine checkpoint inspection in the Joytala area. Approximately nine lakh rupees were recovered from his possession. The arrested individual has been identified as Samad Ali Sardar. According to sources at the Baruipur Police Station, the accused hails from the Tilpi locality within the jurisdiction of the Joynagar Police Station.
According to the police, a routine search operation was underway in the Joytala area. During this operation, a motorcyclist aroused suspicion. Upon being stopped and having his bike searched, a sum of nine lakh rupees was recovered from a bag. The police claimed that the motorcyclist was traveling from Tilpi towards Kurali. The police have initiated an investigation to ascertain the source of the recovered funds. The arrested individual is currently being interrogated.
Meanwhile, in north Bengal's Alipurduar, officers of Alipurduar Police Station received information that a couple was staying at a hotel in the area adjacent to the town's Chowpati crossing. They were reportedly in possession of a substantial amount of cash.
It was learned that the couple, hailing from Chirang in Assam, had checked into the hotel on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they left the hotel in their private vehicle. Acting on this tip-off, officers from the police's Anti-Corruption Branch intercepted the vehicle shortly thereafter. According to police sources, a search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of Rs 275,000 in cash.
The vehicle from which the money was recovered bears an Assam registration number plate. The owner of the vehicle claimed to be a businessman from Assam. During police interrogation, the couple stated that they had travelled from Chirang to Alipurduar on Tuesday for a leisure trip.
However, investigators are treating the recovery of the cash with particular seriousness, given the prevailing election atmosphere. They noted that they have not yet received a satisfactory explanation from the couple regarding the source of the funds.
The police have stated that efforts are underway to ascertain the source of the funds. If the money was brought in with the intention of being used in the election, appropriate action will be taken.