Prayagraj Police have unearthed unaccounted cash packed inside three steel drums buried underground at a house in Baraipur village, in the Nawabganj area of Prayagraj district, officials said on Thursday. Acting on a tip-off, a police team excavated the floor of one of the rooms and, at a depth of about five metres according to ANI, recovered three small steel drums containing bundles of Rs 500 notes, wrapped in black polythene.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

According to Dainik Jagran, the search operation began at around 6 pm on Wednesday and lasted about four-and-a-half hours. The report said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Ganganagar) Sonam Kumar and Additional DCP Pushkar Verma led the team, personnel from three police stations took part, and more than 40 police personnel were deployed around the house. The cash was seized, the house was sealed and security was posted at the premises.

Source: Dainik Jagran English

What is solid

  • Three drums containing bundles of Rs 500 notes were recovered from under the floor of a house in Baraipur village, Nawabganj
  • The house has been sealed and the Income Tax Department has been alerted
  • Police received the lead after a local dispute in the village

What is only claimed

  • The total amount — ANI estimates Rs 3-4 crore, Dainik Jagran reports over Rs 5 crore; an official count is still awaited
  • How many people have been detained — reports differ between one person and two brothers taken in for questioning
  • The source of the cash — police have not established where the money came from or whether it is linked to any offence

Police said the property belongs to a Yadav family, and two brothers, Rakesh Yadav and Rajesh Yadav, had reportedly worked in Pune before returning to the village in 2020. Residents told police that after their return the brothers allegedly purchased land and new tractors, which raised suspicions locally about a sudden rise in wealth. These accounts are allegations and residents' claims, not findings of the investigation.

Investigators said the lead about the concealed cash came after a local dispute in the village a day earlier, which suggested the family kept a large amount of unaccounted money and drew on it in small amounts for daily expenses. Police said a person detained in the case was giving evasive responses during questioning. A probe is under way to trace the source of the recovered money, and investigators are also trying to verify details of the Pune company where the brothers were said to have been employed, ANI reported.