Corruption
Cash buried under Bengal farmland: Over 2 crore recovered after arrest of TMC’s Baduria civic chief
More than ₹2.24 crore in cash allegedly buried beneath farmland was recovered in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district a day after TMC leader Dipankar Bhattacharya’s arrest, reports said.
Investigators took Bhattacharya to a jute field site at Batuldanga in the Baduria area as part of an intensive search operation following revelations made during his interrogation.
During the excavation, which lasted for several hours, officials dug out multiple sacks and trolley bags packed tightly with currency notes, all in ₹500 denominations.
According to police sources, the latest underground recovery significantly increases the total wealth seized from properties linked to the civic chief.
On Tuesday morning, Bhattacharya was initially arrested after a raid at his residence and an adjacent computer training center in Punra yielded nearly ₹80 lakh in unaccounted cash.
During that initial raid, police also seized approximately 4,000 government-stamped tarpaulin sheets and blankets meant for disaster relief distribution, which local residents alleged were being covertly moved and hoarded, reported The Times of India.
The recovery operation in the farmland continued late into Wednesday, with police deploying drones to scan the surrounding agricultural fields for any additional hidden stashes.
Photo: Screengrab
While authorities continue to officially map the source of the buried money, police sources revealed that the investigation was heavily driven by complaints from local residents.
The allegations indicate that Bhattacharya had been taking institutional bribes to the tune of ₹15–20 lakh from individual beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) housing scheme.
The probe is widening rapidly, with police also arresting Bhattacharya’s personal secretary, Shamim Gazi, from the Batuldanga area on Wednesday for his suspected involvement.
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