Smuggled gold worth Rs 1 crore seized from Howrah station

Kolkata, March 21 Smuggled gold and unaccounted cash worth over Rs 1 crore were seized from Howrah railway station in Kolkata and one person was arrested in this connection.

The arrested has been identified as Chandrabhan Mishra, a resident of the Motiganj area in Uttar Pradesh.

The recent recovery and arrest have added to apprehension of Income Tax department and intelligence agencies in the state that Howrah station is slowly turning out to be a choicest transit point for operators dealing in smuggled gold and unaccounted cash.

Railway Protection Force (RPF) sources said that Mishra was seen loitering mysteriously with a heavy bag at platform number eight of the old complex of Howrah station at around 10 p.m. on Monday.

The RPF personnel intercepted him and upon thorough checking, gold bars and ornaments fetching approximate market value of over Rs 1 crore were seized from his possession.

Mishra was initially detained and questioned about the source of that huge gold consignment but when he did not gave any satisfactory answer, the RPF personnel arrested him and handed him over to the income tax department officials.

On March 18, in two separate incidents, the RPF personnel arrested two persons with unaccounted cash worth Rs 32.80 lakh.