Over Rs 27 lakh cash seized during vehicle checking in Odisha

NUAPADA/BARBIL: Police detained seven persons and seized over Rs 27 lakh cash from their possession during separate incidents of vehicle inspection in Nuapada and Keonjhar districts on Friday.

In the first incident which took place near Saipalla check gate in Nuapada, police intercepted a car on way to Khariar Road from Padampur. During search, the cops seized Rs 4.89 lakh cash from the vehicle and detained two persons, Ranjit Singh Gandhi (52) and Chetan Kumar Saha (34).

Similarly in Khariar, three persons carrying illegal cash were detained during vehicle inspection at the check post near Amlapali chowk. Khariar IIC Pradeep Dharua said while Rs 1.31 lakh was seized from the possession of one Priyabrata Bhoi (20), Rs 95,500 was recovered from Akhil Agrawal (30) and Rs 69,000 from Mahesh Gurjar (26).

In Keonjhar’s Barbil, a static surveillance team detained two persons for allegedly carrying cash exceeding the permissible limits of Rs 50,000 as allowed by the Election Commission in view of the upcoming polls.

Sources said the duo was en route to Koida town in Sundargarh in a car when the team intercepted the vehicle at Bhadrasahi chowk in Barbil. On searching the car, the surveillance team found Rs 20 lakh cash kept in two bags. During interrogation, the duo said they had withdrawn the amount from a bank in Joda town from the account of a private transporting firm.

A police officer said they were released after questioning but will be called to the police station again for further investigation. The seized cash has been kept in the Keonjhar treasury office. The Income Tax department has been informed about the incident for necessary action, he added.