Rs 2.24 Crore Recovered From Cash-Filled Bags Buried in Trinamool Leader’s Farmland

Kolkata, May 28 (IANS) West Bengal Police on Thursday confirmed the recovery of Rs 2.24 crore in cash from bags buried in farmland owned by Dipankar Bhattacharya, the chairman of the Trinamool Congress-run Baduria Municipality in North 24 Parganas district.

According to police officials, the money was recovered from four trolley bags and one sack that were unearthed after digging up the farmland on Wednesday.

Officials said the cash, mostly in Rs 500 notes, was counted multiple times overnight in the presence of bank officers before the final amount was confirmed.

“The currencies, mainly in Rs 500 denominations, recovered from the trolley bags and sacks, were counted several times in the presence of a couple of bank officers. Finally, the total recovered amount ended at Rs 2.24 crore,” a state police official said.

The latest recovery comes just days after police arrested Dipankar Bhattacharya from a hotel in Baduria on Monday, during which another Rs 80 lakh was allegedly seized from his possession.

With the fresh recovery, the total cash seized in connection with the case has now reached Rs 3.04 crore.

Police sources said that during interrogation, Bhattacharya allegedly revealed that additional cash had been hidden in his farmland. Acting on the information, investigators took him to the site on Wednesday afternoon and carried out the excavation.

Authorities said corruption allegations had been circulating against the municipal chairman for a long time.

Earlier, police had also recovered nearly 4,000 government tarpaulins from a local Trinamool Congress office in Baduria and from a garden house reportedly owned by Bhattacharya.

The case began after separate complaints were filed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Bharatiya Janata Party, accusing the Trinamool leader of corruption and extortion.

Investigators are now probing how Bhattacharya allegedly amassed such a large amount of cash.

Police sources said the allegations against him include taking commissions for allotments under the ‘Banglar Bari’ housing scheme and extorting money from local traders and residents in Baduria.

With inputs from IANS