Police have seized more than Rs 13.2 million in cash during separate operations in Kathmandu and Sarlahi, as authorities investigate suspected illegal financial transactions, including possible hundi activities.
Police found Rs 7.62 million Nepali currency and Indian rupees in Kathmandu and Rs 5.13 million Nepali currency on a scooter in Sarlahi. Police had conducted search in the Kuleshwor, Kathmandu on Shrawan 26 as they were informed that suspected hundi transactions were being carried out through a fruit business there. A joint team of the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office and Kalimati Police Circle conducted a search in the Aanchal Fruit Center and the rented house of its owner.
According to police, the search resulted in the recovery of Rs 7,627,300 in Nepali currency and INR 304,300. Authorities did not immediately determine where the money had come from. The police detained Jitendra Sah Turaha, 33, of Chhipaharmai Rural Municipality-1 in Parsa, as part of the investigation. A court has granted police a four-day remand to continue investigating the seized money and suspected financial transactions.
At another incidentpolice seized Rs 5,134,000 in cash during an inspection of a scooter in Brahmapuri Rural Municipality-2, Sarlahi. The police stopped the scooter for inspection while it was reported to be on a journey from Bhelhi towards Bayalbas. Authorities said, the money was found in various compartments of the scooter and a black bag. Police identified the rider as 57-year-old Jagannath Mahato Koiri of Gaushala Municipality-12, Mahottari.
The scooter was said to have gone off the road and into a crash when an attempt to arrest Koiri was made. Koiri and two police personnel sustained injuries in the incident. Koiri was treated in Malangwa while the two police officers were discharged after they received treatment for minor injuries. The police have seized the cash and the scooter and is continuing its investigation. Police are currently investigating the source of the funds, its intended purpose and links to illegal financial transactions.
The Kathmandu case is being investigated in light of information regarding possible hundi transactions, an informal system of transferring money outside authorized banking and financial channels. Police have not yet found criminals guilty based on the receipt of the money. The events of both incidents are still being investigated and the allegations have not been substantiated in court. The seizures come amid continued law-enforcement efforts to investigate large cash movements where the legitimate source of funds cannot be immediately established.
Source: NepalLive
