I-T officials seize Rs 2 cr from trader

The Income-Tax officials seized Rs 2 crore from a Kanpur-based tannery owner from outside the Amausi airport in Lucknow on Friday. The businessman failed to produce the source of the money he was carrying. A senior I-T official said they had laid a trap outside the airport following a tip-off. The owner of Sultan Tannery at Jajmau area in Kanpur,Mahtab Alam and his wife,Nausheen Lari,arrived at the airport to board the Kolkata-bound JetLite flight. The I-T team searched Alam’s briefcase to find cash to the tune of Rs 2 crore. The businessman produced the money withdrawal receipts of Canara Bank and IDBI Bank in Kanpur. On verification,the I-T team in Kanpur found that no withdrawal was made by Alam from these two banks. The recovered cash was deposited in the government locker. The I-T official said a probe will be conducted into the source of the money.

The official also said they had to seek police help as the businessman had called his acquaintances at the spot which hampered the operation.