Man held with Rs 30 lakh in laptop bag at Esplanade

Kolkata: A huge amount of money has been recovered from Kolkata on Monday evening. The person who was carrying the money, identified as Koushik Nath, was arrested.

According to sources, before the 5th phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the special branch of Kolkata Police was alerted that antisocial elements may cross Ganga using ferry services and roads to reach Kolkata, after before and on the day of the poll.

Based on the alert, senior officials of Kolkata Police had decided to keep a close watch on the Howrah-Kolkata bordering areas. As a precautionary measure, a good number of police personnel were deployed to keep a strict vigil on the ferry ghats and other places, using which antisocial elements could have gone out from Kolkata and come from Howrah.

During the special naka-checking, many persons were intercepted and questioned. Special teams comprising plain clothed police personnel also patrolled the areas to locate any suspicious movement.

While doing so on Monday evening, a team from Hare Street police station noticed a person standing at the Esplanade bus terminus with a laptop bag, which seemed suspicious as it looked overstuffed. When some police personnel asked him to stop, Nath reportedly did not respond to their calls and behaved as if he did not hear anything.

When Nath did not stop walking despite repeated calls, some police personnel went to him and asked him to show the contents of his bag. He refused and when police personnel tried to get hold of his bag, Nath allegedly tried to flee from the spot with his bag.

However, as he was surrounded by the sleuths from Hare Street police station, he was trapped and was detained immediately.

During a subsequent search of his laptop bag, sleuths found bundles of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes. Wasting no time, Nath was taken to the police station.

After counting the bundles, sleuths found that he was carrying Rs 30 lakh. Nath was interrogated about the source of the money and to whom he was about to deliver it.

Sources informed that the accused had stated that he was from Burdwan and he was to deliver the money somewhere in East Midnapore.

As the 6th phase of the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled to take place there on May 12, it is

suspected that the money was supplied to use illegally during the election.

He has been arrested and the information of recovery of money has been passed on to the Income Tax department and Election Commission for further action.