The huge cash found on the now-suspended Congress MLAs from Jharkhand had its source in Kolkata and not Assam, a senior West Bengal CID officer probing the matter said, stressing that the trio was acting on behest of people with a “bigger game plan”. Earlier, it was said that the money was sourced from the northeastern State.
The CID officer, however, did not divulge much about the game plan that he was referring to but revealed that the money was just a “fraction of the amount that was involved in the larger scheme of things”.
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Cash amounting to around ₹49 lakh were found by the West Bengal police on July 30 inside a vehicle in which three Congress MLAs — Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kachchap and Naman Bixal Kongari — were travelling. The Legislators were subsequently arrested and produced before a court, which remanded them in 10-day CID custody.
"The money recovered had its source in Kolkata. The MLAs were acting on behest of some people who have a bigger game plan," the officer said.
The Congress on Sunday alleged that the BJP was trying to topple the JMM-led [Jharkhand Mukti Morcha] government in Jharkhand, of which it is a part, by offering ₹10 crore to each MLA, a charge rebuffed by the saffron camp. The ruling Trinamool Congress TMC in West Bengal has also raised similar allegations against the BJP.
According to the CID officer, “All three MLAs, along with a mediator, had gone to Guwahati, where a deal was struck with someone influential. The three then flew back to Kolkata and put up at a Sudder street hotel.
BJP trying to lure MLAs with ₹ 10 crore, ministerial berth to topple Jharkhand government: Congress
“There was another Youth Congress leader waiting for them at the hotel, who met a businessman here and got them the money from his office. The legislators had put up at the hotel without registering their entry. The hotel manager has been called for questioning,” the CID officer explained.
Efforts are under way to trace the Youth Congress leader, he said, adding that the police have laid hands on CCTV footages from the hotel as proof of all activities at the hotel.
