Two hawala traders held with Rs 80 lakh

The city police have arrested two suspected hawala conduits and recovered cash worth Rs 80 lakh from their possession, which they were supposed to hand over to a Mumbai-based contact, a senior official said today.
The accused, identified as Dayanand Kukreja (48) and Ashok Bhadwani (59), were intercepted last night when they were heading to Bhopal railway station to board a train to Mumbai, where they were supposed to deliver the money to one Harish at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT).
Superintendent of Police (Bhopal North) Hemant Chouhan said the duo owned grocery shops in Mangalwara locality of the city.

Chouhan said the duo were arrested as they failed to produce any documents accounting for the cash they were carrying.
"We have seized the money and booked them under relevant sections of the IPC. We have informed the Income tax department about the arrest," he said, adding that the duo had "admitted" that the money was part of a hawala racket.
The SP said the police are investigating the claims of Kukreja and Bhadwani that they had collected the cash from local traders.