'Money in possession of Jharkhand MLAs had source in Kolkata, trio part of bigger game plan'

The huge cash found on the now-suspended Congress MLAs from Jharkhand had its source in Kolkata and not Assam, a senior West Bengal CID officer probing the matter said, stressing that the trio was acting on the behest of people with a “bigger game plan”.

Earlier, it was said that the money was sourced from the northeastern state.

The CID officer, however, did not divulge much about the game plan that he was referring to but revealed that the money was just a “fraction of the amount that was involved in the larger scheme of things”.

Cash amounting to around Rs 49 lakh was found by the Bengal police on Saturday inside a vehicle in which three Congress MLAs -- Irfan Ansari, Rajesh Kachchap and Naman Bixal Kongari -- were travelling. The legislators were subsequently arrested and produced before a court, which remanded them in 10-day CID custody.

Also Read | 3 Congress Jharkhand MLAs caught with piles of cash in Bengal suspended

"The money recovered had its source in Kolkata. The MLAs were acting on the behest on some people who have a bigger game plan," the officer said.

The Congress on Sunday alleged the BJP was trying to topple the JMM-led government in Jharkhand, of which it is a part, by offering Rs 10 crore to each MLA, a charge rebuffed by the saffron camp.

The ruling TMC in Bengal has also raised similar allegations against the BJP.

According to the CID officer, “All three MLAs, along with a mediator, had gone to Guwahati, where a deal was struck with someone influential. The three then flew back to Kolkata and put up at a Sudder street hotel.

“There was another Youth Congress leader waiting for them at the hotel, who met a businessman here and got them the money from his office. The legislators had put up at the hotel without registering their entry. The hotel manager has been called for questioning,” the CID officer explained.

Efforts are underway to trace the Youth Congress leader, he said, adding that the police have laid hands on CCTV footage from the hotel as proof of all activities at the hotel.