Income tax department seizes more than Rs 10 crore from bank lockers in Pune

The Income Tax Department on Wednesday conducted searches on multiple lockers in a Bank of Maharashtra branch in Pune in connection with its tax evasion probe in the alleged stashing of funds post demonetisation and recovered Rs 10 crore from 15 lockers at Parvati branch of Bank of Maharashtra.

Rs 2.5 crore of this money was in the denomination of Rs 100, while the remaining Rs 7.5 crore were found in new Rs 2000 notes

The taxman conducted the searches after getting inputs that huge cash to the tune of about Rs 10 crore is kept in them, both in new and old legal currencies of Rs 2,000 and Rs 100.

The lockers, in the banks’ branch in Parvati area of the city, belongs to a private firm.

“The lockers are being searched in the Bank of Maharashtra in Pune. The seizures will be effected soon,” a senior I-T Department official said.

The I-T department has sought cooperation from the bank authorities to obtain all the transactions of the said firm in the branch even as counting of the cash is being carried out at present.

While in another case in the city police have seized Rs 67 lakh cash, of which Rs 62 lakh were in new Rs 2,000 denomination notes, from five people travelling in a car in Wakad locality.

A senior police officer attached to Wakad police station said 3,110 notes of Rs 2,000 denomination worth Rs 62.20 lakh and 4,800 notes of Rs 100 worth Rs 4.80 lakh were seized.

“We recovered the cash and the Income Tax department has been alerted,” the officer added.