At daybreak police in Bengal’s Birbhum loaded Rs 28.5 crore in cash and 15 kg in gold bars – worth an estimated Rs 21.3 crore – into six vans and a large transport vehicle, and drove away.
The money and gold had been seized from the home of a local businessman – Muhammad Minar Mandal, a former West Bengal government bus driver – whose family is known to be closely associated with senior Trinamool leader Anubrata Mondal.
Mandal was arrested Thursday. He has not commented, so far, on the cash and gold recovery but his son has claimed the family did not know of the fortune hidden inside their home.
48-hour search ends with Rs 28.5 crore cash, gold recovery and arrest in Bengal
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The police have said Mandal is related to Muhammad Najibuddin – also called ‘Tulu’ Mandal – who is a prominent local businessman with ties to the TMC’s Mondal.
Mondal was earlier heading the Trinamool’s Birbhum district office and was once close to ex-chief minister and party boss Mamata Banerjee. In August 2022 he was interrogated and arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation for not co-operating with its probe in a cattle smuggling case.
On Tuesday the police arrested seven suspects – Arjun Lohar, Sheikh Giyasuddin, Sheikh Farjuddin, Pulok Saha, Sheikh Firoz Ahmed, Abhinav Bhatsa, and Rabi Kumar Gupta.
On interrogation the suspects led the cops to Mandal’s home in the Deucha neighbourhood.
The police then discovered the large amount of illegally amassed cash and gold. Informants told the cops it had been amassed by an organised crime syndicate led by ‘Tulu’ Mandal.
“During the search at the house of Muhammad Minar Mandal, police recovered approximately Rs 28.5 crore in cash and 15 kg of gold bars…” Vidit Raj Bhundesh, Superintendent of Police (Birbhum), said.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari issued a stern warning against corruption and targeted the previous administration, i.e., led by Mamata Banerjee.
”Our government will maintain a zero-tolerance policy against corrupt individuals. No one involved in corruption will be spared. Anyone who has amassed wealth through wrongdoing, looting public assets, or colluding with the then-ruling party will face the full weight of the law.”