Howrah: RPF arrests man, seizes illegal gold and silver items
Kolkata: A man was arrested on Friday morning at Howrah Station by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) for possessing illegal gold, silver idols and a substantial amount of cash.
This significant recovery occurred after RPF officers acted on a tip-off, leading to the seizure of valuable items, including 770 grams of gold jewellery, assorted silver articles and Rs 40,000 in cash. The recovered items have been forwarded to the Income Tax department for further investigation.
The operation took place on platform number 10, where RPF officials focused their search on the Howrah-Gaya Express train (train number 13023).
During the investigation, they spotted a man named Harish Kumar Verma, 46, from Bhagalpur district in Bihar, sitting in seat number 25 of the A-1 coach in a suspicious manner.
When questioned by the RPF officers, Verma was found in possession of luxury items, including gold lockets, rings, chains, earrings and bangles. The total weight of the gold jewellery was 769.9 grams, with a market value exceeding Rs 60 lakh. Additionally, officers recovered three silver idols weighing 385 grams and Rs 40,000 in cash.
The officers also got two raw receipts in Verma’s possession. This raised concerns about the legality of the items, as he failed to provide credible proof of ownership besides the receipts. Further investigations revealed that Verma’s mobile phone and SIM card were confiscated for examination.
Despite multiple rounds of questioning, Verma could not offer any substantial explanations for the valuables.
As a result, he, along with the seized items, was transferred to the Income Tax department for legal proceedings. Investigations are ongoing to see if anyone else might be involved in this case.
