Kolkata, April 7 – A large sum of money was recovered in Kolkata on Tuesday ahead of the assembly elections. Approximately ₹19 lakh was seized from the Shyambazar area in north Kolkata.
Two individuals have been arrested in connection with the incident, according to a senior officer of the Kolkata Police.
Investigators are trying to determine the source of the money and its intended destination. Raids are also being conducted in various locations in Kolkata before the elections.
A significant amount of money has already been recovered during raids conducted in several locations across the state.
The West Bengal Assembly elections will be held in the districts of South Bengal, including Kolkata, on April 29.
Strict surveillance and raids are being carried out to prevent the entry of money and weapons into the state from outside and to prevent the entry of criminals.
Raids were conducted in the Shyambazar area this morning. Teams from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Static Surveillance Team (SST), and the Burtolla police station were searching various vehicles.
According to the police, a vehicle was seized, and a search was conducted. Investigators became suspicious after seeing the two passengers in the vehicle.
"They had a black leather bag. When the bag was opened, a large amount of money was found. After that, the investigators arrested the two passengers. During the initial interrogation, the two young men could not provide any receipts or accurate information about the money. They were subsequently taken to the police station," said the senior police officer.
The names of the two arrested individuals are Sajidur Rahman and Vivek Ojha. The total amount of money recovered is ₹19 lakh 94 thousand 500. Each note is of ₹500 denomination.
It is learned that Sajidur Rahman's residence is in Janaki Nagar, under the Kaliganj police station in the Nadia district. Vivek Ojha's residence is in Salkia in the Howrah district.
Shibbrata Roy, the nodal officer of the Shyampukur 166 Assembly constituency, was present during the seizure of the money.
Recently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted a raid in the Behala area of South Kolkata. Over ₹1 crore in cash was recovered from the house of a company boss.
A large sum of money was also recovered during raids at the West Bengal-Assam border.
