Bag with Rs 10 lakh cash, docs found at AP minister's house

A bag containing Rs 10 lakh and some educational documents was found abandoned at the residence of Andhra Pradesh Minister P Sujatha in West Godavari district even as a woman today came forward claiming that the money belonged to her, police said.

The bag, containing Rs 10 lakh and the documents were found at Sujatha's residence, who is the Minister for Child Welfare, Mines and Geology, in Veeravasaram mandal of the district last evening and it was noticed by a house maid, they said.

"The minister informed the matter to the police and raised suspicion that someone might have kept the bag at her house intentionally," Narsapur Deputy Superintendent of Police P Soumyalatha told PTI over phone.

The minister has sought for a thorough probe into the matter, suspecting that some unknown person might have done it intentionally to tarnish her image, the DSP said.Police, who also recovered a District Selection Committee (DSC) hall ticket and other educational documents from the bag, have booked a case under section 102 (Power of police officer to seize certain property) under CrPC, she said.

Meanwhile, a 51-year-old woman Vishnuvathi claimed that the bag, containing the money and other documents, belonged to her.

"The elderly woman said that after withdrawing the money from a bank she had gone to the minister's house to meet her, but was unable to meet her yesterday. She forgot the bag there itself. She came forward today saying the money belongs to her while the certificates belong to her daughter," the senior police officer said.

The bag, containing cash, and other documents will be sent to a court and further proceedings will be based on investigations from different angles including from where this amount came from, the DSP said."We will proceed as per facts of the case," she added.