Bengaluru, Aug 21 (IANS) Income Tax officials, acting on specific information, seized unaccounted cash worth around Rs 9 crore from a Kerala-registered car near the Veeransandra signal in Bengaluru’s Electronic City on Friday.
According to police, the Income Tax Department alerted the Electronic City police about the illegal transportation of a large amount of cash in the vehicle. Acting on the information, police intercepted and checked the car, following which the cash was found and seized.
Preliminary information suggests that the cash belonged to a gold jeweller, who owned a jewellery shop, and is reportedly a native of Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu. The Income Tax Department had also conducted a search at the gold jeweller’s residence, where officials allegedly found an additional Rs 1.35 crore in cash.
The gold shop owner has been taken into custody for questioning in connection with the seizure. The Income Tax officials are investigating the source of the money and the purpose for which it was being transported.
The seized cash was reportedly being transported in the Kerala-registered car when it was intercepted by the police.
Further details regarding the case, including the source and intended destination of the money, are yet to emerge.
It can be recalled that on June 27, the Bengaluru Police seized Rs 2.98 crore in undocumented cash and arrested two businessmen. In a major cash seizure, the Mahalakshmi Layout police recovered Rs 2,98,00,900 in undocumented cash from a shed in Kurubarahalli. The cash, packed in four bags, was allegedly kept without any valid documents, leaving even the police team surprised.
The cash reportedly belonged to one Nagaraj, a businessman from Tavarekere, who had allegedly stored it in a shed owned by his friend Venkatesh in Kurubarahalli. Acting on a tip-off received during night patrol on June 2, the police team raided the shed and seized the cash.
In an earlier incident in 2024, City Crime Branch Police (CCB) in Belagavi seized Rs 2,73,27,500 in cash being transported illegally without documents. The cash was hidden under a modified cabin of a goods truck while being transported from Sangli (Maharashtra) to Hubballi (Karnataka) on the Pune-Bengaluru national highway in Mal-Maruti police station limits.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Rohan Jagadeesh had then stated that based on receipt of credible information about illegal transportation of cash, a team of CCB Police headed by Inspector Nandeshwar Kumbar was formed, which apprehended the goods vehicle. The vehicle was modified, and upon examination and mechanical help, Rs 2,73,27,500 was found hidden in the cabin. Two accused, Sachin Menkudale and Maruti Murgod, residents of Sangli, were arrested.
–IANS
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