Rajasthan: Above Rs 2.31 Crore In Cash And One Kg Of Gold Recovered From Jaipur Office

JAIPUR: On the day when RBI withdrew Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation, more than Rs 2.31 crore in cash and one kg of gold was found in a locked almirah in the basement of Yojana Bhawan here, police said.

Seven employees of the Yojna Bhawan with access to the basement have been detained by police for questioning, officials informed. Interestingly, Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 denomination notes were stashed in the trolley suitcase stored in the basement’s almirah, police said.

Following the seizure of the cash, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was informed about the matter, after which Chief Secretary Usha Sharma, Director-General of Police (DGP) Umesh Mishra, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Dinesh MN and Jaipur Police Commissioner Anand Srivastava late Friday night held a joint press conference at the Secretariat.

Srivastava said, "Files were found from one almirah and the trolley suitcase full of cash and gold from another, following which the employees informed the Ashok Nagar police station," adding that the cash amounted to Rs 2.31 crore and gold weighed 1 kg. "The files are being scanned and digitised under the e-filing project. Two locked cupboards were also opened today after their keys were found," he added.

The seven employees with access to the area were detained and are undergoing interrogation. The investigation into the entire matter has been initiated, Srivastava said. The Jaipur Police Commissioner said the entire matter would be disclosed by him soon. The cupboard in which the cash and gold were found had been locked for several months. Moreover, Aadhaar-UID-linked staff had access to the basement from where the cash was found, and the police is planning to question the staff having access to the basement’s shelves.

"Whose money is it, how did it come, investigation is being done. CCTV footage is being scanned. It seems like this wardrobe has been closed for a long time but is not even two or three years old," he mused.

On the other hand, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been quick to target the state’s Congress government over the issue.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rajendra Rathore said in a Tweet, "The recovery of crores of rupees in cash and gold from the Rajasthan secretariat, where Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot sits and runs the government, is a proof that the Gehlot government is in the role of a protector of corruption."

Rathore said the chief minister should be answerable as to how such a large amount of cash and gold reached the Yojna Bhawan.

The BJP leader further opined that no officers from departments like Information Technology (IT), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) were present in the press conference, which was called in a hurry to hide the "black deeds" of the government.

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