As RBI Withdraws Rs 2,000 Notes, Rs 2.31 Cr Cash Found In Rajasthan Govt Office

Seven employees have been detained and are being interrogated. (File photo)

JAIPUR: More than Rs 2.31 crore in cash and one kg of gold was recovered from a locked almirah in the basement of Yojana Bhawan here, police said. According to officials, seven employees of the Yojna Bhawan having access to the basement have been detained for questioning. The trolley suitcase kept in the almirah contained Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 denomination notes, police said, adding that the recovery took place on the day when RBI withdrew Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation.

After the cash was seized, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was briefed about the matter following which Chief Secretary Usha Sharma, Director-General of Police (DGP) Umesh Mishra, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Dinesh MN and Jaipur Commissioner Anand Srivastava held a joint press conference at Secretariat late Friday night.

"Files were found from one almirah and the trolley suitcase full of cash and gold from another, following which the employees informed the Ashok Nagar police station," Srivastava said, adding that the cash amounted to Rs 2.31 crore and gold weighed 1 kg. "The files are being scanned and digitised under the e-filing project. Two locked cupboards were also opened today after their keys were found," he said.

Seven employees have been detained and are being interrogated. The investigation into the entire matter has started, Srivastava said. The Jaipur Police Commissioner said he would disclose the entire matter soon. The cupboard from which the cash and gold were recovered was locked for several months. The basement from where the cash was found was accessed by Aadhaar-UID-linked staff, the police will question the staff having access to the shelves in the basement.

"Whose money is it, how did it come, investigation is being done. CCTV footage is being scanned. It seems like this wardrobe has been closed for a long time but is not even two or three years old," he said. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has targeted the Congress government over the issue.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rajendra Rathore said in a Tweet, "The recovery of crores of rupees in cash and gold from the Rajasthan secretariat, where Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot sits and runs the government, is a proof that the Gehlot government is in the role of a protector of corruption."

He said the chief minister should answer how such a large amount of cash and gold reached the Yojna Bhawan. The BJP leader further said no officers from departments like Information Technology (IT), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) were involved in the press conference called in a hurry to hide their "black deeds".