Prayagraj:
What seemed like an ordinary house in a village just 45 kilometres away from Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj was actually hiding something far bigger – precisely three drums containing crores worth of cash, buried deep underneath the structure soil.
The incident was reported from the Ganganagar zone of the Prayagraj Police Commissionerate after cops conducted a raid on the house, belonging to a Yadav family, based on a tipoff.
On Wednesday, a joint team from the Nawabganj and Soraon police stations, led by the ACPs of Soraon and Phulpur, arrived at Baraipur in Ramnagar village, which comes under the Nawabganj police station area of the Ganganagar zone.
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According to information received, the house in question belongs to Rakesh Yadav and Rajesh Yadav, who previously worked in Pune. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the brothers abruptly left their jobs and came back to the village. Since then, locals noticed a drastic transformation in their financial status and lifestyle.
Rakesh and Rajesh, who belong to an ordinary family, started to buy acres of plots in the village and surrounding areas, bought a tractor and began spending money lavishly – all within a short span of time. The sudden change shocked villagers, who wondered how these men, who held modest jobs, had become so rich. However, nobody knew the real source of their wealth.
During a recent dispute between the brothers and villagers, a local called the police alleging that the brothers were in possession of a large sum of black money. This alerted cops, who were already investigating cases of organised crime, and a team with senior officials were soon sent.
An initial search of the house proved nothing unusual. Then, acting on precise intelligence, police examined the floor of one of the rooms, where the soil appeared to have been recently tampered with. Labourers were soon brought in, and after some digging, the three buried drums were discovered.
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The drums, carefully covered with multiple layers of thick, black plastic sheeting, were opened. What was found inside stunned police – bundles of 500-rupee notes, estimated to be worth crores.
Ganganagar DCP Sonam Kumar stated that the amount recovered is so substantial that the exact total will only be clear once a formal count of the currency is completed.
Senior officials soon arrived at the spot and sealed the house, while arresting one family member. According to police, the suspect has been repeatedly changing his statements and providing evasive answers.
Cops are now trying to trace the source of the money. The Income Tax Department and other financial investigative agencies have been formally notified of the recovery, and formal counting of the cash will begin after they arrive.
(With inputs from Deepak Gambhir)
