Bangalore turns hawala hub, one arrested

The city police seized Rs55 lakh from an alleged hawala courier arrested near Nagarthpet on Saturday night.

The Ulsoorgate police, who arrested 38-year-old man, said Sathish Tukaram Pokare was found under suspicious circumstances. The police searched his bag and found the cash in it. He was arrested after he had failed to provide a satisfactory explanation.

During interrogation, Pokare reportedly told the police that he had collected the money on his employer’s behest from a yet-to-be-identified person in Nagarthpet. The employer has been identified as Maruthi Jadhav.

The accused had been working as driver of a Palakkad, Kerala-based businessman. He reached Bangalore on Saturday evening. Pokaram’s employer had given him a mobile number, asking to contact the person. He was also told to return with the bag the person would give him.

Pokaram, a native of Balawadi village in Maharashtra’s Sangli district, received the bag and was heading towards the City Railway Station when a police team, deployed near the Dharmarayaswamy Temple to provide security to the Karaga festival, found him. On finding the cash, he was taken to the police station.

“We will be handing over the money to the I-T department after getting the court’s permission,” Gachchinakatti, assistant commissioner of police (Ulsoorgate sub-division), said.

The police recorded Pokaram’s arrest on suspicion that he could be a part of several hawala rackets operating in the city. Investigators said that a hunt was on for the man who had handed over the cash to the accused.