The old notes worth Rs 3.5 crore that had gone missing in Nagaland on Tuesday, were found on Wednesday with businessman Anato Zhimomi, the son-in-law of three-time chief minister Neiphiu Rio. Zhimomi has been detained by I-T officials.
The cash was reportedly handed over to Zhimomi by Central Industrial Security Force officials after he produced an Income Tax exemption certificate, Nagaland police chief LL Doungel told The Times of India. Intelligence and I-T officials believe the cash in the now-defunct Rs 500, Rs 1,000 notes could have been part of a big money laundering racket.
A Bihar-based businessman, Amarjit Singh, was apprehended on Tuesday after security personnel received intelligence that he was carrying the money on a private jet from Hisar in Haryana. The money later went missing, and the Intelligence Bureau and Central Board of Direct Taxes was roped in to investigate.
Rio is the sole Lok Sabha member from the state and supports the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre. Anato Zhimomi’s father Khekiho Zhimomi was an MP in the Rajya Sabha on a ticket by the Naga People’s Front party.
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