Mumbai – Indradev Pandey
The flying squad of the Election Commission recovered Rs 3 crore in cash from Bhandup during the early hours of Sunday. According to police, the incident occurred around 1am on Sunday, when the flying squad, along with a local policeman, was on patrol duty.
At Sonapur Signal in Bhandup, they found a stationary ATM van. As part of regular checking, we asked why it was parked at that spot so late in the night. The two individuals in the van were not in uniform and on checking the vehicle we found around Rs 3 crore in cash,’’ said a police officer.
The police had a good reason to be suspicious as when vans ferry cash to ATMs, the bank authorised personnel carry related documents and equipment used to open the machine. The police found neither any documents nor any tools in the van.
To add to the confusion, the duo began stammering, which seemed to further reinforce the suspicion. Moreover, informed an officer, when money is being deposited in the ATM, a security guard is supposed to be present. However, no uniformed person was found in attendance.
For cross-verification, the van was seized by the squad; the two individuals inside the van, in turn, were detained by the Bhandup Police for questioning. Simultaneously, the income-tax department was alerted. The seized cash was examined by I-T officials, and the concerned bank was summoned for verification. By Sunday afternoon, I-T officers informed the squad that the cash found was clean and was on their records; the bank had also confirmed that the detained persons were on duty when they were hauled in.
Detained Individuals and Seized ATM Van Released
Purushottam Karad, deputy commissioner of police, Zone 7, confirmed on Sunday evening that the detained individuals were released after it became clear that nothing was amiss. The ATM van, which had been seized and kept at Bhandup police station too was released, added officers.
