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₹3 crore loot: Investigations point towards ‘hawala’ racket
After the incident of loot on the Prayagaraj-Kanpur Highway in Kokhraj area of Kaushambi, police teams are on the alert mode
After the incident of loot on the Prayagaraj-Kanpur Highway in Kokhraj area of Kaushambi, police teams are on the alert mode. They are investigating if the route is being regularly used by hawala agents to transport large amounts of cash, long distances.
Besides the incident of loot on Saturday, miscreants have looted cash worth around ₹2 crore from a trader going from Varanasi to Delhi in January last year in Hathigawa area of Pratapgarh. The looters abandoned the looted car in Kokhraj area of Kaushambi. They were arrested later from Seoni in Madhya Pradesh when their vehicle caught fire and police found cash in their car.
Police officials are establishing similarities between both incidents as the place of both loot are the same and in both cases the hefty amount of cash was being transported from Varanasi to Delhi. Moreover, the modus operandi in both cases is also similar.
The miscreants intercepted an SUV and took two persons in it hostage on Saturday night. The miscreants took the SUV to Kada Dham in Kaushambi and left with the hefty amount of cash concealed in a specially designed cash box in the vehicle. The two persons, who were later identified as Pintu and Baba of Gujarat, called the police and informed that miscreants looted cash ₹3 crore which they were carrying in the SUV.
SP Kaushambi Hemraj Meena said that investigations suggest that the cash was of ‘hawala’ racket. The persons looted belong to Gujarat and have informed that cash was first transferred to Varanasi and then it was being transported to a person in Delhi. The persons involved have been called for questioning and CCTV footage were being scanned to identify the looters, he added.
ADG Zone Prem Prakash and IG Range Rakesh Kumar Singh also reached Kaushambi and questioned the two persons in connection with a hefty amount of looted cash. Besides cracking the loot and arresting the culprits, officials are also on the alert over the route being used for transporting hawala cash. Police questioning also includes the motive behind transporting large amounts of cash to Delhi and its connections to people in Varanasi and other cities outside the state.
In the earlier incident, on the night of January 30, 2021, cash around ₹2 crore belonging to one Rinku Seth of Varanasi was looted in Hathigawa area of Pratapgarh on Kanpur Highway. Rinku’s driver Harinath Yadav and Vinod Rawat were taking the cash to Delhi when their vehicle was intercepted by looters. The miscreants assaulted Yadav and left with the vehicle which was later abandoned in Kokhraj area while the bags containing the cash were found absent.
However, police was informed about cash ₹40 lakh in the vehicle. Meanwhile, a SUV in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh caught fire. Locals and police rushed to the spot and tried to douse the fire. They received a shock when currency notes floated in the air when the vehicle’s bonnet was opened. Much of the cash was found concealed behind the seats while some cash was burnt in the fire. Police later found that the cash was looted in Pratapgarh. Driver Harinath Yadav’s brother Hariom was arrested from the spot who confessed that he and his brother had planned the loot.
Spl cash box raises suspicions
Police investigations into the recent loot in Kokhraj have revealed that the car in which the cash was being transported was purchased in Prayagraj. A man living in Baghambari Gaddi Matth had purchased the car in April this year. However, the person in whose name the car was purchased was not found at the Matth. After this revelation, the link of hawala trade is also being connected to Prayagraj.
As the car had a large cash box specially designed to conceal cash, police officials believe that it was used specially for the purpose of transporting large amounts of cash. Police officials said that the two persons in the SUV were only told to pick the cash and deliver it to a person in Delhi. On the instructions of IG Rakesh Kumar Singh, three teams are investigating the mysterious loot and hawala trade.
IG Range said that investigations till now are indicating a hawala racket. Till now the car owner and persons who owned the hefty amount of cash are yet to come forward. The looted persons have revealed the name of a person of Ahmedabad who has been called for questioning. A team has also been sent to Varanasi from where the cash was collected, he added.
