Kolkata, July 29 (IANS) In a sudden raid and search operation that started early Wednesday morning, the West Bengal Police have recovered crores of rupees in cash and 10 kg of gold from the residence of a relative of an influential stone-quarry owner in Birbhum district of West Bengal.
Currently, the process of counting the recovered cash is ongoing, and the cops have brought five currency-counting machines from a local branch of a public sector bank for that purpose. An officer from the investigating team said that an estimated amount of around Rs 32 crore has been recovered.
“Apart from this huge unaccounted cash, gold weighing around 10 kilograms has also been recovered from the residence of Minar Mondal, a close relative of Tulu Mondal, an influential stone-quarry owner in Birbhum district,” said the investigating officer.
He also said that the exact value of the recovery amount will be disclosed later after the counting of currency is completed and the market value of the seized gold is ascertained.
Tulu Mondal was known in the district as a close confidant of Anubrata Mondal, the former Trinamool Congress’s Birbhum district president. Mondal had earlier spent days behind bars after being arrested first by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and then by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in 2022 in connection with his involvement in the cattle smuggling case in West Bengal.
After Trinamool Congress’ defeat in the Assembly election, Mondal shifted to the rebel faction in Trinamool Congress led by the expelled party legislator, Ritabrata Banerjee.
It is learnt that Minar Mondal, from whose residence the cash and gold were recovered, was a bus driver in the state-run transport corporation. However, locals said he was involved in a major way with the stone-quarry business of Tulu Mondal.
The recovery of such a huge amount of cash and gold from his residence this morning has left his neighbours dumbstruck. In the past, the stone-quarry owner, Tulu Mondal, was accused of illegal stone mining.
Tulu Mondal’s name had also come up in the cattle smuggling case. He was under the watch of the ED in 2022. At that time, the Central investigators raided his house and office. The investigators are trying to find whether the huge cash and gold recovered from Minar Mondal’s residence were actually owned by Tulu Mondal.
–IANS
src/dpb
