Bundles of cash were recovered from a North 24-Parganas school on Thursday, hidden inside a vault that the institution’s accountant was allegedly reluctant to open.
This is the second instance in a few days where an educational institution in the state proved to be a trove of “unaccounted” crores.
Officials recovered ₹1.77 crore from the vault of the private senior secondary school in Kanchrapara, which had reportedly been claiming financial distress.
Officers of Barrackpore Commissionerate said the school’s acting principal, Bikash Chandra Pal, had lodged a written complaint at Bizpur police station against four men, including the school’s accountant, Abhik Kumar Nag, accusing them of misappropriation.
The police identified the other three accused as Kamal Adhikary, Goutam Ghosh Dastidar and Sayan Pal.
After the cash haul, the BJP leadership alleged that the school premises had been used as a clandestine vault to stash black money amassed by Trinamool Congress leaders.
Leading the charge, Bizpur BJP MLA Sudipta Das claimed that the entire money belonged to three prominent Trinamool leaders in the area.
“We have learned that Harnett English Medium School was running at a loss. However, when Abhik Kumar Nag (the accountant) was asked to open the vault in front of the complainant and other school staff, they found a large amount of unaccounted money,” said a police officer.
Based on the complaint, the police have started a case for alleged criminal breach of trust by a clerk, aggravated criminal breach of trust, cheating, extortion, forgery and criminal conspiracy.
Nag, the accountant, and Pal, the junior accountant, were arrested after several hours of interrogation.
“We are probing all angles,” an officer said.
BJP MLA from Noapara and state transport minister Arjun Singh amped up the allegations.
In Kanchrapara, the BJP leaders rejected claims from some sections that the money represented proceeds from the sale of books and other fees. “How can such a large amount come to a school? It cannot be admission fees,” Das said.
Two trolley bags stuffed with old bundles of cash were found in staff quarters on the college premises. When police were called in, they also recovered a firearm and several swords from the campus.
The discovery comes just days after bundles of termite-infested currency notes were recovered from Surendranath College in Sealdah on June 2.
The school, about 60km from the heart of Calcutta, is affiliated to the CBSE and has classes up to XII.