Mumbai: Pune police have recovered Rs five crore cash from a vehicle during a routine nakabandi at Khed Shivapur toll plaza on Pune-Bangalore national highway. The police have handed over the cash to the Income Tax department for further investigation. The opposition parties targeted the Mahayuti alliance for the alleged use of money in the election.
The police intercepted Innova Chrysta car bearing number MH 45 AS 2526 at Khed Shivapur toll post during the routine check. According to reports, the person driving the car claimed that the cash of Rs five crore he was carrying was meant to be delivered to a politician currently associated with the ruling party in Sangola.
The car was taken to the Rajgad police station, and the police questioned four people in the car, including the driver. Pune (rural) superintendent of police Pankaj Deshmukh said that further details of the incident will be shared after verifying all details.
“During ‘Nakabandi’ (vehicle checking), a white Innova was intercepted. It was checked and we found notes of Rs500 denomination. Total cash in the car was Rs five crore, which was being transported towards Kolhapur. We have handed over the money to the Income Tax department, which has also initiated an investigation into it,” Mr. Deshmukh said.
A senior police official said that one of the four people travelling in the car claimed that he was a contractor and the cash belonged to him.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed that there were two vehicles carrying Rs 15 crore, but only one of them was seized while the other vehicle carrying Rs 10 crore was allowed to without checking. NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar claimed that there were six cars with Rs 30-35 crore being transported from Mumbai to Sangola, the constituency of sitting Shiv Sena MLA Shahajibapu Patil.
Claiming that the actual amount being carried was Rs 15 crore, Raut linked the cash seized to Shahahibapu Patil. “After just one phone call, another vehicle carrying Rs 10 crore was let off by the police. Rs 75 crore have been promised to each candidate of the ruling parties and this was only the first installment. This is an example of how money is being distributed by chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar,” he alleged.
Rohit Pawar also claimed that only a part of the seized money has been shown on the record. Accusing the ruling parties of using money to influence voters, he said, “There were six cars with Rs 30-35 crore being transported from Mumbai to Sangola. This Gujarat-style money and muscle power would not be accepted by the people of Maharashtra.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray even dragged the Election Commission of India into the controversy claiming that people will know the truth only if the election body is impartial. “It is clear that if anyone from the ruling parties is involved in suspicious activity, the truth will never come out. If the ECI is neutral, then only we will know the truth. If it is not, then everyone will start making their own conjectures,” he said.
However, Mr. Patil denied any connection with the seized money. The MLA said, “I learnt that the car intercepted by the police is from Sangola only from the news reports. But I have no connection with it. The government is free to conduct any investigation.”
