BENGALURU: Income Tax officials are having a jam-packed weekend too, thanks to a few more cases of unaccounted cash being unearthed in the city. In fact, some of the officials of the Intelligence and Criminal Investigation Wing of the Income Tax Department were seen working on Saturday (they have a five-day week).
The first incident took place around 7 pm on Friday when the local police seized Rs 18 lakh worth of unaccounted cash from a hospital. Acting on a tip-off, the police raided the premises of the Bangalore Baptist Hospital, Ballari Road, Vinayakanagar. Police detained one Sridhar and his friend Mohan, who were later handed over to the I-T officials. The cash was found inside a car.
Police sources said Rs 10 lakh was in Rs 2,000 denomination notes and Rs 8 lakh in Rs 100 denomination notes. Police asked the duo for valid documents but when they failed to produce any, police alerted the I-T officials.
In yet another case, a 66-year-old farmer from Andhra Pradesh was arrested by Mahadevapura police with Rs 12.10 lakh worth of cash on Friday night. All in Rs 2,000 denomination notes. The accused is Ishwarappa from Gorantla village in Andhra Pradesh.
According to the police, the incident took place around 8pm near a petrol pump station in Whitefield. Ishwarappa was waiting in his Alto car with the money. He was to exchange it with old currency for a 20 per cent commission. When a patrolling vehicle came near, Ishwarappa and his driver tried to escape, only to be intercepted by the police. This is when the police found the Rs 12.10 lakh cash. When the police asked for substantiating documents, Ishwarappa failed to provide them and instead confessed that he had come to exchange the new currency with the old ones. Ishwarappa’s driver, however, managed to flee the scene, police said.
Mahadevapura police have registered a case. The I-T officials have also been alerted about the incident. Police are investigating the case to track down the person who had called Ishwarappa to exchange the money.
GP member nabbed for dacoity
A gram panchayat member was arrested for dacoity where he and his team robbed a man of Rs 4.5 lakh cash.
The accused is Venkatesh, the gram panchayat member of Mandur and a resident of Bommanahalli. There are eight accomplices who are yet to be nabbed. The victim is Narendra Babu, a realtor and a resident of KR Puram.
According to Avalahalli police, the incident took place around 8.50pm on Thursday near a gated community on Nimbekaipura Road. Venkatesh and Narendra came in touch through a third party.
Venkatesh claimed that he had demonetised notes worth Rs 10 lakh and wanted to exchange them with the new currency by evading taxes. Narendra agreed to exchange it for a Rs 15 per cent commission and said he would pay Rs 8.5 lakh in new notes.
As per the plan, the men met on Nimbekaipura Road. Narendra had come with three people. He had Rs 4 lakh cash in Rs 2,000 denomination notes. This he carried in his pocket. The rest of the money, Rs 4.5 lakh in Rs 100 denomination notes, was in his car. The three people who accompanied Narendra sat in the car.
Venkatesh, who had come with two people, saw the cash kept inside the car. He took Narendra to a corner pretending to show him the money. This is when six men came armed with lethal weapons and threw chilli powder on the three men who were in the car. They then made away with the Rs 4.5 lakh cash. On hearing the commotion, Narendra tried to rush to his friends’ aide but Venkatesh and another person threatened him at knife-point, police said.
Narendra filed a complaint with the local police. Acting on a tip-off, Venkatesh was arrested and produced before a court and was remanded to judicial custody. Police have seized Rs 3.5 lakh from Venkatesh.