Pune:
The Pune rural police have recovered Rs 1.52 crore and 356 gm of gold ornaments, valued at Rs1.58 lakh, from a long distance private bus. The cash and gold were stuffed into two nylon sacks that were kept, along with the luggage of passengers, in the vehicle heading from Icchalkaranji to Mumbai.
Officials from the income tax (I-T) department, enforcement directorate and Pune rural police are jointly investigating the case.
The police and I-T officials checked the bus at Khed Shivapur toll post around 5 am on Thursday.
Assistant commissioner (I-T) Sangram Gaikwad and other I-T officials were present.
Superintendent of police (Pune rural) Pratap Dighavkar told reporters that the police had detained the owner of Sanjay Travel Agency, Mahesh Gajanan Tripathi of Icchalkaranji and a jeweller, Amol Bajrang Mali (42) of Hoopri, Icchalkaranji, in this connection.
"The bus driver, Anil Neharu Mule (35) of Icchalkaranji, has also been arrested," he said. No one knows who kept the sacks and to whom they belong. A person named Mali claimed some amount, but not the entire lot," said Dighavkar.
"It is surprising that a such a huge amount was kept in the bus and no one was aware of it. We are probing the issue," said Dighavkar, adding that assistant police inspector Dnyaneshwar Ganore is investigating the case.
The bus driver told the police that he was not aware of the contents of the sacks. The owner told him to hand them over at Kapad Market in Mumbai. But he was not told who was to take possession of the sacks.
"Illegal transactions are taking place in Pune city and rural areas. We are planning to start a drive, in which public and private vehicles would be checked," said the SP.
The police suspect that the cash could have originated from Hoopri, a city famous for silver ornaments near Kolhapur.
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