Gujarati youth held with Rs 50 lakh cash in Delhi

New Delhi: A hawala racket surfaced when the security forces seized Rs 50 lakh cash from a Gujarati youth at the Barakhamba metro station, here on Saturday.

“We recovered Rs 50 lakh cash from 19-year-old Thakur Dilip on Saturday. The youth said he belonged to Patan in Gujarat,” Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) spokesman Hemendra Singh told IANS.

According to sources, the money was being taken to Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi as part of hawala transactions. The area is notorious for hawala transactions.

The Delhi Police and the I-T Department have been informed about the recovery and they are investigating the case.

During the investigation, a 32-year-old man turned up to claim the money. He said the money was meant for a transport company in the Fatehpuri area of Chandni Chowk. “The cash was sent by the company’s owner in Gujarat,” he said.

He, however, failed to produce any document to substantiate his claim.

On the query if the money was part of hawala transactions, the police said, “it’s too early to say anything. Investigation is on.”

In a similar incident last month, the CISF personnel had arrested two persons carrying over Rs 1 crore cash at a Delhi Metro station.