Massive haul of unaccounted cash in poll-bound Andhra

Police suspect that the money was brought in at the behest of a leading jeweler for distribution among the voters on the eve of the April 30 simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assembly in Telangana.

Speaking to Khaleej Times on Saturday, Cyberabad Police Commissioner C V Anand said the police had, so far, seized about Rs1.2 billion in cash from different parts of the state, with Cyberabad Commissionerate alone accounting for about Rs220 million in the run up to the elections.

“That Andhra Pradesh accounts for almost half of the total cash seizures of Rs2.5 billion across the country speaks volumes of the situation here,” he said.

The police, acting on a tip-off, intercepted the bus in suburban Shamshabad and found the money, in Rs1,000 and Rs500 denominations, stashed in seven bags. The duo, Prashanth and Darshan, who were arrested following the seizure, said they had brought the money at the behest of Anurag Gupta, a leading jeweler, who has since been absconding. The two also confessed to a similar exercise two days ago when they brought in Rs 40 million in cash. Besides the cash seized from them, police also raided the house of Prashanth in the city and found about 1.5 million in cash there. Both Prashanth and Darshan said they were employees of the jeweler but claimed ignorance as to the purpose of the cash brought in from Bangalore.

Stating that the police was on the look out for Anurag Gupta, Anand said: “Andhra Pradesh is gaining notorious reputation for hawala transactions. This is the first time we have been able to establish direct evidence that hawala transactions are flourishing in the state, particularly in view of the elections,” he said, adding that they strongly suspected that the money was meant for election purposes.

Asked if the police could prove that the money seized was meant to be used by candidates to buy votes, Anand said: “For us, it is circumstantial assumption that the seized monies were meant for elections, because of the timing. No gold merchant would take such high risks to bring in money at a time when the state is going to polls and police inspections are at its peak,” he said.

The police commissioner said the money seized so far in the state was only the tip of the ice-berg of what would have already come across the borders. “I am not sure whether it is because of the sincerity with which we have taken up search operations during the elections that AP accounts for a major portion of the seizures country-wide,” he said.

Stating that it was the politicians to be blamed for the situation, Anand said people nowadays expect money to be paid during the elections. “They will not come unless they are paid money, and politicians have been pampering them with such monetary attractions,” he said.

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