Bhubaneswar: Khandagiri police have seized cash amounting to Rs 30,00,000 stashed in a gunny bag and have detained the youth on whose possession the currency was found. Police are questioning the youth as the incident comes close on the heels of the dacoity in Cuttack in which over Rs 12 crore were looted from a financial services company Thursday. Naturally the police are suspicious as to how the youth was in possession of such huge amount of liquid cash.
Sources said that Mahaveer Prasad Das was standing at Tapoban filling station under Khandagiri police limits. He had a gunny bag with him. He seemed to be little bit worried and it appeared he was waiting for someone.
On being informed about the youth, a team from Khandagiri police station reached the spot and started questioning Mahaveer. They also searched the bag and found the large amount of cash. Mahaveer also had no explanation as to how he came in possession of the money. He was then taken to the police station for interrogation.
Meanwhile, another youth identified as Pralay Kumar Padhi reached the police station and claimed that the money belonged to him. He said he was involved in the pan masala business and hence he deals in liquid cash. Padhi also informed the police that he supplies pan masala to various districts in Odisha.
Padhi told reporters that he has the documents to prove that the seized cash belonged to him. He said some businessmen owed him money since the COVID-19 lockdown in Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district. So he had sent his friend Mahaveer to collect the amount. When Mahaveer was waiting for him at the Tapoban filling station police detained him, Padhi said.
Recovery of such a huge amount of liquid cash from a bag has left people asking questions. Many people are linking the incident to the dacoity in Cuttack. Police, however, have not been able to throw any light so far. They said that till investigations are not completed they will not be able to verify the authenticity of Padhi’s statements.
PNN