Kolkata: In an embarrassment to the BJP, four persons including two women and a local saffron party leader, were arrested for allegedly carrying unaccounted cash of Rs 24.12 lakh at Baruipur in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, ahead of the last phase polls to be held on May 19, police said on Friday.
“About Rs 24.12 lakh of unaccounted cash wrapped in a scarf with BJP party’s emblem has been seized from four persons, including two women, when they were travelling in a car from Baruipur to Bakulta,a police said. State’s ruling Trinamool Congress has been accusing the BJP of distributing money among voters across districts to buy votes. Refuting the allegation, the BJP’s district officials said the cash seized from party’s Baruipur mandal general secretary Mintu Halder was his personal.
However, the Election Commission sought a factual report on the incident, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Sanjoy Basu said. Earlier this week, a man, who claimed to be a personal assistant to BJP’s West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh, was arrested along with an accomplice after Rs one crore of unaccounted money was seized from them in Asansol station. Kolkata Police on Wednesday had seized unaccounted cash worth more than Rs one crore and arrested three persons in two separate raids in the city.
