Rs 28-cr cash, gold haul from ex-driver with TMC 'link' sparks latest row in Bengal

Four years ago, a serving cabinet minister of West Bengal landed in legal trouble after cash and other valuables worth crores were found in properties related to his aide, an actress, in Kolkata. On Tuesday (July 28), a similar plot unfolded, this time in Mohammadbazar in Birbhum district.

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Piled-up cash worth at least Rs 28 crore was seized from the house of a relative of a close aide of local Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Anubrata Mondal. Even five machines brought by officials to count the bundles of notes failed to keep up. Besides, gold weighing 15 kilograms was also found. Its estimated market value is over Rs 21 crore. Several metal trunks were used to transport the cash from the premises. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari hailed the police action, saying it reaffirmed his government's "zero tolerance policy against corruption".

Anubrata back into focus?

The person from whose house the cash was found is Minar Mondal, a former government bus driver and a relative of Tulu Mondal alias Mohammad Nazibuddin, an aide of Anubrata and a stone trader who is reportedly absconding since the police raid. Anubrata, who was once a close aide of former Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, recently shifted base to the TMC’s rebel camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee, the state’s leader of opposition. His reaction to the development was not known immediately.

The counting of the unaccounted money came to an end on Thursday (July 30) morning with the police confirming the estimated value. Minar was arrested subsequently and would be produced at a court in Suri, Birbhum’s district headquarters, later in the day, The Week reported.

It also cited Birbhum Superintendent of Police Bidit Raj Bundesh saying that Minar did not initially disclose the source of the cash and gold. Later, he admitted that they were linked to an allegedly illegal network.

The incident happened at a time when Bengal’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has taken a strong stance to curb illegal mining activities in Birbhum, which has been under the scanner over allegations of illegal quarrying and stone and sand trade. It was reported that police came to know about the cash and gold while interrogating some accused robbers arrested recently. They launched the raid soon after it took hours before they unearthed the mountain of valuables.

Minar worked for North Bengal State Transport Corporation as a driver before leaving the job a few years ago to join Tulu’s stone business. News agency PTI cited a source to say that he allegedly looked after a local toll gate through which lorries from stone quarries passed and collected revenue from transporters. He is suspected to have diverted a large amount of cash that was headed to state coffers, the source said.

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Police are investigating whether Tulu is also associated with the assets found at Minar’s house. The former’s name had come up in the past in connection with a cattle-smuggling case in Bengal. He was also arrested in 2022 by the district police in connection with a murder case, The Week report added.

Minar's wife told the media that neither she nor her husband knew what was inside the trunks from which cash and gold were recovered.

She alleged that Tulu had left the locked metal trunks at their house a few years ago, telling the family they contained documents. She also said the keys remained with Tulu and the family never opened the trunks.

"We came to know about the cash and gold only after police opened the trunks on Wednesday. My husband did not know anything, yet he has been arrested," she said, adding that they survived on Minar's modest government pension.

CM Suvendu asserts 'zero-tolerance policy'

While the police continued to investigate the matter, CM Adhikari said on Wednesday that his government would continue to follow “zero-tolerance policy” on corruption and anybody who exploits public resources would not be spared.

In a post on X on Wednesday, he said, “Commendable job by our Law Enforcement personnel for the crackdown on Sand Mafia. Following a precise operation based on source-based information, Birbhum Police conducted a major raid under Mohammad Bazar PS targeting the hideout of illegal sand mafia Tullu Mondal alias Mohd Nazibuddin. The operation has uncovered staggering amounts of illegally amassed wealth: Cash Recovered So Far: Rs 5.5 crore, with counting still ongoing. Gold Recovered: 15 kg.”

“West Bengal Govt's ongoing drive against the corrupt will go on with 'Zero Tolerance Policy against Corruption' as our guiding principle. Let it be unequivocally clear: 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. Public wealth belongs to the people, and those who loot it will face the full might of the law. Vigilance and uncompromising action will continue. Crackdown on mafia syndicates will go on,” he added.

Two TMC factions accuse each other

The two factions of the TMC, who was dethroned after 15 years in power in May, were blaming each other over the discovery of the wealth.

TMC spokesperson and MLA Kunal Ghosh, who has remained in the Mamata camp, said that while those responsible for such crimes should not be spared, the government should also investigate political leaders who had allegedly patronised such activities.

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MP Kalyan Banerjee, another leader of the Mamata camp, told NDTV that Birbhum has always been known to be an exclusive turf of fome former TMC minister and the “Tiger of Birbhum”, taking a veiled dig at Anubrata. “No one else could gain a foothold there.

The chief minister should now investigate and uncover the extent of the connection between the accused and these influential figures,” he was quoted as saying by the channel.

The latest seizure of the cash and gold has also brought into focus the lavish wedding of Tulu’s daughter a few years ago when actors from Tollygunge, the seat of the Bengali film industry, and Bollywood were invited.

Around the time when the cash and gold were recovered, police from Birbhum's Nalhati area also traced a huge cache of explosives, including several kilograms of ammonium nitrate and hundreds of gelatin sticks from an abandoned house. The district police were looking into the incident.

(With agency inputs)