Damaged Currency Notes Recovered from Storeroom at Surendranath College

MP, June 3, 2026, Kolkata : Two suitcases containing damaged and termite-eaten Rs 100 and Rs 500 notes were recovered from a storeroom in the backyard of Surendranath College on Tuesday, prompting a police inquiry into the source of the cash.

According to Kolkata Police, information about the recovery was received at around 5.50 pm after college staff, in the presence of the principals of Surendranath Day College and Surendranath Evening College, found the suitcases during a cleaning drive on the campus.

Police personnel from Muchipara Police Station reached the college after being informed.

A college official said the room was opened during a cleaning exercise undertaken following instructions from civic authorities.

The authorities of Surendranath College, Surendranath Law College and Surendranath Evening College will jointly lodge a complaint, the official said.

“We had been asked to clean the area as water tends to accumulate there during the rainy season, creating conditions for mosquito breeding. The room is used to store old and discarded materials, including broken furniture, computers, banners and festoons. During the cleaning exercise, two suitcases containing damaged currency notes were found and the police were informed immediately,” the official said.

The recovery drew a sharp reaction from BJP Baranagar MLA Sajal Ghosh, who claimed the recovered notes could amount to several lakh rupees and demanded a detailed probe into the source of the money.

He alleged the cash could be linked to irregularities in student admissions.

Ghosh had earlier written to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari seeking an investigation into alleged misappropriation of student union funds at the college.

Citing bank records, he claimed that more than Rs 1.5 crore was lying in accounts linked to the union’s cultural activities and questioned how such sums could have been accumulated through student contributions.

The controversy has also brought focus to two rooms on the fourth floor of the college’s main building.

BJP leaders alleged that the rooms were being used by a member of the college’s managing committee and his son.

When the rooms were opened by college authorities on Tuesday, they were found to contain a bed, an almirah, an air-conditioner and a modern bathroom.

An adjoining terrace was also found to have several empty liquor bottles lying around.

Teacher-in-Charge of the day college Purnendu Prakash Pal said he had no immediate information about how the rooms came to be used in that manner.