Cash stack at West Bengal school: Police recover Rs 1.77 crore from locked room

NEW DELHI: West Bengal Police has seized nearly Rs 1.77 crore in cash from a locked room of a private school in Kanchrapara in North 24 Parganas district and detained the institution's accountant for questioning.The recovery was made during an overnight search operation carried out on the basis of specific intelligence inputs, police said.According to officials, eight packets containing cash were recovered from the locked room. Three counting machines were brought to the school and the counting process continued until early Thursday morning."The cash has been seized, and an investigation is underway to ascertain its source. We are examining documents and questioning those connected with the institution," a senior police officer said.Police have detained the school's accountant, Abhik Kumar Nag and are questioning him about the source of the money and why such a large amount was being kept on the school premises.Officials said Nag has so far failed to provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the origin of the cash or the reasons for not depositing it in a bank.A written complaint has also been filed against four individuals, Kamal Adhikari, Gautam Ghoshdastidar, Abhik Kumar Nag and Sayan Nag. The complaint includes allegations of financial irregularities and cheating, police said.Kamal Adhikari is the chairman of Kanchrapara Municipality and the brother of former Bijpur MLA Subodh Adhikari.Meanwhile, school principal Bikash Chandra Pal claimed that the money belonged to the institution and had been collected through admission-related fees."The amount comprises admission fees collected by the school. The accountant kept the money on the premises instead of depositing it in the bank," Pal told reporters.When asked why such a large amount had not been deposited in a bank, the principal said he was unaware of the reasons and claimed the matter had taken place without his knowledge.Police said they are now verifying the school's records and financial documents to determine whether the seized cash matches officially recorded transactions and to establish if any financial wrongdoing was involved.(with inputs from PTI)