On the wee hours of Saturday morning, three trucks containing Rs 570 crores were intercepted and caught at the Tirupur highway by a flying squad constituted to keep a check on unaccounted cash flow in Tamil Nadu. The trucks escorted by three cars was intercepted at the Perumanallur-Kunnathur bypass road, and a chase ensued as the vehicles did not stop.
The trucks were going from Coimbatore to Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Though initial reports said that the men inside the truck claimed to plainclothed policemen from Andhra Pradesh transporting money for State Bank of India, the probe is still on. The Election Commission was not ready to believe it as the documents did not contain SBI seals.
Later, the Election Commission said that the money might be from the State Bank of India. “The additional documents have been examined and preliminary enquiy revealed that the money belonged to SBI. But the security guards didn't carry original documents but only photocopies,” Rajesh Lakhoni, Tamil Nadu Chief Election Officer told reporters.
He said that the investigation is still in the process.
The cash bundled into 195 boxes was seized at around 12.45 am.
"It was a routine internal transaction from Coimbatore to Vishakapatnam. It had all the official papers, RBI letter and police escort. A committee meeting is going on with the Election Commission and we are showing all the official documents," said Ramesh Babu, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India.
He added that an official statement will be released by the State Bank of India soon.