Man arrested with Rs 1.4 crore unaccounted cash at Kharagpur railway station

Police have arrested a 36-year-old man after recovering Rs 1.40 crore in cash from his bags at Kharagpur Railway Station in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district. The man, identified as Rahul Soni, was unable to produce valid documents to establish the source of the money, following which the police seized the entire amount.

The recovery was made on Wednesday at Platform 7 after railway police personnel noticed Soni behaving suspiciously and stopped him for questioning. He was carrying two handbags and a blue backpack.

A search of his luggage led to the discovery of bundles of Rs 500 notes packed inside the bags. The cash was subsequently counted using a currency-counting machine, which confirmed the total amount at Rs 1.40 crore, comprising 280 bundles of Rs 500 notes.MAN CLAIMED CASH WAS BEING TAKEN FROM TATANAGAR TO HOWRAH

During questioning, Soni, a resident of Howrah, reportedly told the police that he was transporting the cash from Tatanagar to Howrah.

The search was conducted in the presence of Kharagpur Government Railway Police Station (GRPS) Officer-in-Charge Abhijit Chatterjee and independent witnesses. The entire operation was videographed using the e-Sakshya system.

As Soni failed to provide documents establishing the legitimate source of the money, the police seized the cash and arrested him following the prescribed legal procedures.

The arrest was made under Sections 47 and 48(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), following procedures outlined under Supreme Court and National Human Rights Commission guidelines, according to the police.

Based on a written complaint filed by Sub-Inspector Tarun Kishore Jena, Kharagpur GRPS registered Case No. 167/26 under Sections 317(2), 317(5) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The investigation has been handed over to Sub-Inspector Swapan Kumar Bhuiya.- EndsWith inputs from Sheikh Sahajan Ali