Rs 2.89 crore unaccounted cash seized in Bengaluru flat

Bengaluru: On a tipoff, the investigation wing of the Income Tax (IT) department found and seized Rs 2.89 crore unaccounted cash, mostly in the new Rs 2,000 notes, from a flat here, said an official on Wednesday.

"An unexplained cash of Rs.2.89 crore, including Rs 2.25 crore in Rs 2,000 notes was found during a search in a flat at Yeshwantpur (in the city's northwest suburb) on Tuesday," said IT Department spokesman Alex Mathew in a statement here.

Though the IT sleuths got the information on Monday that huge amount of cash was lying in an apartment, occupied by an old woman and guarded by two fierce dogs, they could not enter the premise to search, she was not cooperative and refused to tie the dogs.

"We had to take the help of local police and other inmates in the building to enter the premises where one room was found locked. On opening the room, the cash was found stashed in boxes," said Mathew.

When a survey operation revealed that a person was visiting the flat in the early hours, the sleuths summoned him and asked him about the cash source. As his claims were found to be incorrect, he admitted it was unaccounted income.

"We have been active and successful in the post-demonetisation investigations as evident from seizure of Rs 29.86 crore in cash, 41.6 kg of bullion and 14 kg of gold jewellery since November 9," Income Tax Commissioner Rati Menon told IANS.

Of the total cash haul, Rs 20.22 crore was in new currency of Rs.2,000 notes.

"In the process, the Directorate General of IT (Investigation) in Karnataka and Goa has unearthed unaccounted income in excess of Rs 1,000 crore from 36 cases," added Menon.

In another case in neighbouring Goa, Rs 67.98 lakh in Rs 2,000 notes were seized from a person on Tuesday when the IT sleuths approached him as decoy customers in desperate need of hard cash.

"The seizure was made at a place called Banda on the Goa-Maharashtra border," said Mathew.