Bengal BJP chief's 'personal aide' held with Rs 1 crore

Kolkata, May 13 (IANS) A man, who claimed to be a personal assistant to BJP's West Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh, was arrested along with an accomplice after Rs 1 crore of unaccounted money was seized from them in Asansol station on Monday, Railway Police sources said.

The two were apprehended by the Railway Police along with a bag containing the cash as they were about to board a train to Kolkata.

The Railway Police challenged Gautam Chattopadhyaya and Lakshmikant Shaw, who were seen moving suspiciously with a huge bag at the Asansol station.

When searched, an amount of Rs one crore was found in the bag. The police arrested the two after they failed to account for the money.

When queried by reporters, Chattopadhyaya said that the money belonged to the Bharatiya Janata Party and was being taken to Kolkata.

The police said Chattopadhyaya claimed that he was a personal assistant to Dilip Ghosh, the chief of the BJP's state unit.

Ghosh, however, said Chattopadhyaya was not his personal assistant, but a party worker with whom he had connections.

"I am busy with the elections. He was with me and used to oversee works in my Kharagpur Assembly Constituency. Currently, he is not my personal assistant but I have connections with him as he is a party worker. I do not know the details of it. We need to examine whether it is a conspiracy," Ghosh said.

Later, Chattopadhyaya and Shaw were presented before a lower court which remanded them in police custody for four days.

The seizure has come only a couple of days after over Rs 1 lakh was seized from the car of Bharati Ghosh, a former IPS officer and the BJP candidate from the Ghatal Lok Sabha constituency.