Vigilance and Anti Corruption sleuths grill GRP ASI, traffic constable

Cash and gold seizure

STAFF REPORTED

GUWAHATI: The sleuths of Vigilance and Anti Corruption are grilling GRP (Government Railway Police) assistant sub-inspector Shravan Kumar Jha and his brother traffic constable Sanjay Kumar Jha at the Fatasil Ambari Police Station. The duo was held with a booty of Rs 22 lakh, ten pieces of gold biscuits and other ornaments weighing 1.5 kg from Lalganesh here on Wednesday night when they were going with the booty riding a bike (AS1AQ4330).

The recovered gold is worth around Rs 70 lakh. The sleuths are investigating as to how the ASI has amassed such huge amount which is disproportionate to his known source of income.

The Vigilance team is currently interrogating Jha at the Fatasil Ambari PS. According to a source, when Jha was in the GRP, he came in contact with a gold racket. He assisted the racket to smuggle gold through the Guwahati Railway Station, the source added. Sometimes he used to make busts against the racket if his demands are not met, the source said.

According to the police, the two siblings were taking the cash and the gold from the house of Upendra Yadav of Govinda Nagar in Fatasil Ambari. Yadav hails from Bihar. The police also said that Shravan Kumar Jha had kept the cash and the gold in the house of Yadav.

The source said that Jha is a native of Bihar and the vigilance team will also visit his hometown for further investigation. Meanwhile, his brother traffic constable Sanjay Kumar Jha said that he went to Lalganesh on Shravan's instructions and he was aware that the briefcase which he was carrying had gold and cash.

It is to be mentioned that, GRP ASI Shravan Kumar Jha had been arrested in January this year the case of looting gold worth Rs 45 lakh from a train passenger in Guwahati Railway Station. He, however, was on bail in that case.