Hyderabad police busted Rs 7.5 cr hawala money

In a major catch, the Hyderabad police along with Task Force, flying squad and Static Surveillance team have seized Rs  7.51 crore from four hawala operators on Wednesday. Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said that on a specific input the city police had planned the operation and caught the four persons at three different places.

The amount was supposed to be distributed in the state for the upcoming elections. The arrested persons are -- Ashish Kumar Ahuja (23), Mohd Azam(31), Sunil Kumar Ahuja (50), and Bahbut Singh Raj Purohit (46). All are residents of the city.

Speaking to newsmen,  Anjani Kumar said: “This money was brought from other States and abroad through hawala channels illegally for use in forthcoming Assembly Elections in Telangana.  The amounts have been transferred online into the accounts of Shell Companies of hawala operators. To facilitate this, hawala operators are giving false documents to open such bank accounts and cheating the banks and the government.  Some more key persons Jayesh Patel, Shailesh, Kishan Lal Chand and Vidya Sagar are absconding,’’ the police commissioner said.

The police have also informed the matter to the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department so they can examine the trail of financial transactions. The seized amount was handed over to the I-T department for taking further action. The city police have registered cases under Section 171-B (Bribery), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 420 (cheating) read with 120 -B (Criminal Conspiracy) of IPC.

Rs 5.69 lakh seized at Abdullapurmet

Hyderabad: Over Rs 5 lakh of unaccounted cash was seized on the Vijayawada Hyderabad highway at Abdullapurmet of Rachakonda Commissionerate on Thursday. Police claim the cash was being transported to city by a businessman from Nalgonda. The vehicle was intercepted while conducting vehicle checking operations near Kothagudem check post.

Rs 1.5 lakh seized and returned to owner

Nagarkurnool: The ECI officials on Thursday seized Rs 1,49,500 from one Kethavath Raju during search operations held in the Nagarkurnool Assembly constituency. According to an official, they later returned the amount to Raju as he had kept the cash to buy gold for his daughter’s wedding. The claim was reportedly verified by the officials.