Malda: About Rs 1.95L cash seized from BJP leader

Malda: Cash worth almost Rs 2 lakh was seized from a BJP leader by the Election Commission of India (ECI) during naka checking at Rabindra Avenue under English Bazar Police Station on Monday.

Shantanu Ghosh, South Malda organisational district general secretary of BJP, was alone in a car with the cash and could not produce enough proof about the source of the money. The cash amounting to Rs 1,95,500 was seized by flying squad members of ECI and sent to District Grievance Committee for the verification of the source of the money.

Dipankar Karmakar, a member of the flying squad, said: “During checking of a car, we found cash of Rs 1,95,500 from a person. He claimed it to be his funds for his business, but failed to produce enough documents in support of his claim. The fund has been submitted to the district grievance committee for further verification and hearing.” Shantanu Ghosh said: “This fund is related to my trade and I was going to deposit the money into the bank account to whom I owe it. I showed them my Income Tax return but they still seized the money. I shall produce the documents the committee wants from me for the retrieval of the fund.”

To stop misuse of funds during elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has formed flying squad teams (FST) and static surveillance team (SST) operational at the naka checks. Cash upto Rs 10 lakh can be seized by the teams and sent to District Grievance Committee. In case of cash more than Rs 10 lakh, the teams intercept and handover the money to the Income Tax department for verification.

Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, state general secretary of TMC, said: “ECI should thoroughly investigate the matter. Why was the BJP leader carrying the cash and where was he supposed to deliver it? BJP is trying to win elections with money.”