BJP leader’s arrest: Probe on to find source of seized cash

Investigating officers from the city police’s Special Task Force (STF) are trying to find the missing link between Rs 33 lakh valid notes and the source of the money. The cash was recovered along with fire arms from the BJP leader and coal mafia don who were arrested from Baguiati on Monday night.

Though the police suspect that Rs 2 lakh of the total money was withdrawn at a time from a bank as the series of the notes were same but they are yet to ascertain that from where the arrested people had managed to get such a huge amount of currencies of Rs 2,000, Rs 100 and Rs 50 denominations when people are struggling to withdraw valid notes worth Rs 2.5 lakh from their bank accounts.

Suspecting that the accused had managed senior officials of a bank to exchange Rs 2 lakh with valid notes, the police sought intervention of the Reserve Bank of India to ascertain that from which bank the valid notes were exchanged.

On the other hand the police are trying to reach to the root to find the person who had helped the dreaded criminal Rajesh Jha, BJP leader Manish Sharma and five of their close aides to get rest of the money in valid currency.

Police suspect that the demonetised notes of equal value was sent to the counterparts of the arrested people in Kolkata earlier.

The same person had engaged his men to get the money exchanged from different banks in the city and its surrounding areas. Later, the money in valid currency was handed over to the accused when they came to Kolkata. Their counterparts in the city had got a commission to get their money exchanged. Thus the police are interrogating the arrested people to know the exact source of the valid notes.

Sources said there are discrepancies in their statement. Thus the police have decided to question all seven of them separately and later they would be questioned face to face.

Taking a dig at BJP, senior Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is searching black money among common people. It should have been better if he had searched the same in his own party.