Kolkata: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Eastern Railway (ER) claimed to have seized foreign currency worth nearly Rs 2.61 crore from a passenger at Howrah station on Saturday afternoon.
According to an ER spokesperson, the RPF team was acting on a specific intelligence input regarding the transportation of foreign currency in an illegal manner. “The team comprised Inspector Ravi Yadav of the RPF’s Crime Intelligence Branch, Howrah, ASI Ajay Turi and constables Supriyo Jash and D Mandal. This raid was part of Operation Satark, aimed at curbing criminal activities on trains and railway premises,” the spokesperson said.
The RPF personnel kept a watch on passengers of the 12024 Patna-Howrah Jan Shatabdi Express that arrived at Howrah station around 1.35 pm. It was Jash who spotted a man moving in a suspicious manner after re-boarding. He was detained as he moved towards Platform 8.
“Jay Prakash Ray, a licenced porter, was called as an independent witness before the RPF team searched the backpack of the passenger. US $ 2,89,000, Saudi Riyal 52,500 and Singapore Dollars 600 were found inside. The total value of the recovered foreign currency in Indian rupees is around Rs 2,60,99,900. The man was identified as Hemant Kumar Pandey, a resident of Bansgaon, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh,” the spokesperson added.
Pandey had no documents authorising him to carry such a huge sum of foreign currency. Initially, he tried to mislead the investigators but finally confessed that he was transporting the cash from Gorakhpur to someone in Park Street, Kolkata.
The RPF team reported the matter to the Customs P&I Branch, Kolkata, and the IC/GRPS/Howrah for further legal proceedings. After completing all necessary legal formalities, the seized foreign currency and the detained individual were handed over to the Inspector of Customs, P&I Branch, Kolkata, for further investigation.
