West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today blamed the BJP after more than Rs. 93 lakh was found in a car in Jalpaiguri district. An investigation by local police is under way.
The money was found hidden in one of the spare tyres of the vehicle during a search operation yesterday.
When asked about the incident, the Bengal Chief Minister said: “I know this is Hawala and all this money is coming for the BJP. They are bringing in cash, bombs and guns, along with central security forces, so that the state police cannot check them.”
She added: “I request the BJP leaders to be watchful. Let us fight each other politically, not by force.”
The money was being smuggled in a car bearing a Bihar registration number. On searching the vehicle, 94 large bundles of cash were found in it. The amount is estimated to be around Rs 93 lakhs, police said.
Police have also detained for questioning five people who were travelling in the car.
According to sources, police were tipped off by an informer that some people coming towards Telipara were carrying a huge amount of money in a small vehicle down Asian Highway 48, a 276-km transnational route connecting India and Bhutan.
While search operations were on, police from Binnaguri outpost stopped a car with five people in it. The presence of an extra spare tyre in the car raised suspicion. Soon, the vehicle was seized and brought to Banarhat Police Station for further investigation, when 94 bundles of cash were found hidden inside one of the spare tyres.
“The amount of recovered cash is reported to be ₹ 93,83,000. Five people have been arrested,” Biswajit Mahato, the Superintendent of Police, Jalpaiguri, told reporters.
