West Bengal: Over ₹50 crore in cash and gold recovered from bus driver’s house after Birbhum Police’s raid
Birbhum Police concluded a marathon cash-counting operation. The search lasted more than 19 hours. The total seizure exceeds ₹50 crore in value. This includes over
Birbhum Police concluded a marathon cash-counting operation. The search lasted more than 19 hours. The total seizure exceeds ₹50 crore in value. This includes over ₹28.5 crore in pure cash. Investigators also found 15 kg of gold on site. Gold alone is estimated at ₹22 crore. Most consisted of gold bars, with some biscuits, too. A jeweller was brought in to verify the gold's authenticity, according to local media. Officers started the raid around 3 AM on 29 July. Counting finally finished around 10:30 PM the same day. The operation targeted the residence of Minar Mondal, a relative of stone trader Tulu Mondal. Five trunks and multiple cash-counting machines were brought for the job.
Minar Mondal previously worked as a government bus driver. He took voluntary retirement roughly four years ago. His pension reportedly amounted to just ₹35,000 monthly, local media reported. This makes the recovered wealth deeply suspicious to investigators. He later became manager for Tulu Mondal. Tulu is reportedly close to TMC leader Anubrata Mondal, who was once Mamata Banerjee’s close aide. Also Read | How a maid pulled off a fake ED raid at elderly couple's house in Delhi Cash was hidden inside two specially designed household wardrobes. These were located on the ground and first floors. Money had been packed tightly inside jute sacks. View full Image View full Image Over ₹ 28.5 crore in pure cash was recovered during the raid (X) Sacks were then concealed within these hidden cupboards.
Notably, the homeowner didn't hold the keys to them. Those keys stayed with whoever originally deposited the cash. Investigators believe cash was deliberately converted into gold. Storing large amounts of currency poses significant logistical challenges. Gold offered a more compact storage solution instead. Police now suspect further assets may be hidden elsewhere. Additional locations across Mohammad Bazar remain under active investigation. Neighbours are shocked Locals expressed shock at the scale of recovery. The house appeared entirely ordinary from the outside. It lacked air conditioning and had no CCTV cameras. Neighbours described the family's lifestyle as genuinely modest. Nothing suggested such wealth was hidden within. Minar Mondal has since been formally arrested by the police.
His house has now been completely sealed off. Also Read | CBI raids 6 locations linked with alleged ₹661 crore scam His son has denied any claims of family ownership. He insists the wealth actually belonged to Tulu Mondal. According to him, Mondal simply stored it there. Despite these claims, authorities proceeded with the arrest regardless. Minar reportedly previously supervised a leased checkpoint gate. This was known as the Raipur Duplicate Challan Receipt gate.
The BriefWire