West Bengal Police Seize ₹28.5 Crore Cash, 15 Kg Gold From Ex-Bus Driver's House In Birbhum - VIDEO

Kolkata: At least Rs 28 crore in cash was seized from the house of a relative of a close associate of a rebel Trinamool Congress leader. Reportedly, five counting machines failed during the recovery at Minar Mondal's house in West Bengal's Birbhum on Wednesday.

West Bengal Police officials recovered 15 kg of gold along with piles of cash from the former government bus driver. Mondal is the brother-in-law of Tulu Mondal, allegedly a close aide of rebel Trinamool Congress leader and Birbhum strongman Anubrata Mondal. Anubrata Mondal joined the rebel camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee earlier this month.

“Minar Mondal has been arrested after the raid. It was his property where this cash and gold was found. A case has been registered and investigation is ongoing,” a top police official was qouted saying by The Hindu on Thursday.

This cash and gold seizure has been one of the biggest in the State after such massive recoveries were made from properties linked to former Education Minister Partha Chatterjee’s and his aide Arpita Mukherjee during the TMC regime. The amount recovered from Ms Mukherjee was ₹50 crore in cash and over 5 kilograms of gold.

"Commendable job by our Law Enforcement personnel for the crackdown on Sand Mafia, " CM Suvedu Adhikari posted on X.

The Chief Minister also unequivocally made it clear that no person with a chequered past who has amassed wealth through the exploitation of public resources and hobnobbing with the then-ruling political party will be spared.

Notably, Anubrata Mondal spent two years in Delhi's Tihar Jail in connection with a cattle smuggling case and had earlier made serious allegations against TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

"I went to jail because of Abhishek. The government's revenue earnings from the stone quarries in Birbhum came down from ₹3.5 crore to ₹65 lakh a day. She (Mamata) called me four times after the Assembly polls. I told her, 'You see with your ears, not your eyes.' Mamata is ruined because of him. Nobody will stay," he had said.