HYDERABAD: In a massive cash haul days before the Lok Sabha elections, police here seized Rs 8 crore on Monday. The cash was seized in Narayanguda in the heart of the city after the Bharatiya Janata Party had withdrawn it from an Indian bank branch in the city. The cheque to withdraw the Rs 8 crore in cash was signed by the Bhartiya Janta Party’s state president K. Laxman.

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In a statement, Hyderabad police said they intercepted two people in a car carrying cash worth Rs 2 crore. Another Rs 6 crore was seized from five persons near a bank, informed sources said. The money belonged to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which set off speculation if it was ‘illegal’ cash meant for distribution among voters. However, party leaders were quick to respond.

When police reached the bank, Rs 6 crore more was found in cash. Nandiraju Gopi, who was present at the bank and apprehended by the police, is an office assistant at the BJP. Another person, S. Chalapathi Raju, is also an office assistant at the BJP. BJP spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao said, “We were drawing our own cash from our own account from a bank. When that was being transported to our office, the police intervene, breaks the window panes and take our money. Not only that, they went to the bank and picked up the remaining cash which was drawn as well along with our party’s accountant.”

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