According to the Kolkata Police, they seized over Rs. 8 crore in cash and jewellery from a businessman’s flat and a car parked at an upscale housing complex in West Bengal’s Howrah district. They added that around 20 crore was discovered in his two bank accounts, both of which have been frozen.
“₹2.2 crore cash and gold and silver jewellery were seized from a car, which was parked in the garage of Clubtown Riverdale early on Sunday. Later in the evening police raided another flat that belongs to the businessman Shailesh Pandey from where ₹5.95 crore cash was seized,” said a police officer.
Canara Bank officials filed a police complaint in Kolkata on October 14 after discovering online transactions in two bank accounts opened in the name of companies with fictitious documents at their Nardendrapur branch.
Shailesh Pandey and his brother Arvind Pandey were arrested after an investigation by Kolkata Police’s anti-bank fraud section.
“Two bank accounts in which ₹20 crore was found have also been frozen. We are yet to arrest Shailesh Pandey and his brother Arvind Pandey. They were not in the house when the raids were conducted on Sunday,” said a second officer.
The car containing the 2.2 crore was discovered in an upscale housing complex where Arvind Pandey owns a flat. Shailesh Pandey’s flat in Howrah Shibpur was later raided by police.
Sujit Goswami, a neighbour, said police broke the locks on Shailesh Pandey’s collapsible door. “Interestingly the wooden door was not locked. Police were also amazed. There were three beds in three bedrooms. Police found cash stacked in bags hidden in all the divan beds.”