Rs 2cr new notes seized in raid - Tax sleuths from Guwahati arrest pan trader in Nagaon district

Avishek Sengupta, TT, Nagaon/Tezpur, Dec. 22: Income tax personnel today seized over Rs 2 crore in new notes from a pan shop owner in Nagaon district while police arrested a higher secondary student for allegedly attempting to convert Rs 60 lakh in old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes for gold in Sonitpur district yesterday.

A four-member team of the income tax department today raided the residence of Tapan Das and recovered Rs 2.35 crore , all in new Rs 2,000 notes, from his possession. Das, along with his father Amulya Das, owns a dealership of pan masala and gutkha at Barbajar in the heart of Nagaon town, about 100km from Guwahati.

Tapan was arrested after a three-hour raid by the income tax sleuths from Guwahati.

Locals said Das had recently opened a hotel named Sea Shine near his residence. A source told The Telegraph that the raid was conducted without informing local income tax officials in Nagaon. "The local office was not even intimated about the total cash recovery," the source told The Telegraph.

An income tax source told that several other businessmen had a share in the seized money.

"Post-demonetisation, influential businessmen of Nagaon parked the money with Das because of his modest background. He was, however, on the IT department's radar, and following a tip-off, our sleuths raided his residence," the source said.

The source said, " Such raids will continue for the next two days in Nagaon and other districts in central and Upper Assam districts."?

This is the third income tax raid in Assam after the seizure of Rs 1.54 crore from a businessman in Guwahati and Rs 60 lakh from another trader in lower Assam's Bongaigaon.

Dhekiajuli police, on the other hand, arrested Nashim Ali, 23, who tried to convert Rs 60 lakh in banned currency notes for gold from a jewellery shop owner, Sidam Paul, at Alisinga under Barsola police station in Sonitpur district last evening.

According to sources, Ali had frightened Paul by saying he belongs to the NDFB and asked him to provide gold worth Rs 10 lakh in exchange for Rs 60 lakh.

"We are currently interrogating Ali. We have not recovered the demonetised notes yet," the police said.

Additional reporting by Avishek Sengupta from Guwahati