Kolkata, Sep 10 (IANS): Enforcement Directorate (ED) teams conducted raids on Saturday at three separate places in Kolkata and recovered a huge amount of cash from the possession of a city-based businessman.
Although the counting process of currency notes in Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 denominations are yet to be completed, according to estimates of the central agency officials, the recovered money would be to the tune of around Rs 7 crore.
On Saturday morning, the ED teams, accompanied by the central armed forces personnel, started from the agency's central government office (CGO) complex office at Salt Lake.
The first team reached the residence of an advocate at a multi-storied housing complex at 34 Macleod Street under Park Street police stations.
The second team raided the residence of businessman Nisar Ali at Shahi Astabal Lane in Garden Reach. From there, the ED officers discovered a huge trunk, where the huge currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 denomination were reserved.
The ED officials immediately informed a local branch to depute staff with currency counting machines. Till the latest information available, the counting of notes was still on.
ED sources said that Khan could not specify the sources of this huge cash. It is learnt that although officially he used to run a transport business, he was actually involved with a number of financial embezzlement rackets.
ED officials are also questioning his youngest son Amir.
Meanwhile, the third team of ED officials is conducting simultaneous raids and search operations at the residence of a garments trader at Mayurbhanj Road.
This is the third major recovery of cash by ED from Kolkata within a period of less than two months.
In late July, the ED officials, probing the multi- crore West Bengal School Service Commission recruitment irregularities scam, recovered around Rs 50 crore in two phases from two residences of Arpita Mukherjee, the close aide of former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee.
Both Chatterjee and Mukherjee are under judicial custody.