Nearly ₹28.5 crore in cash stacked in bundles. Fifteen kilograms of gold locked away. And a house owned by a retired government bus driver at the centre of one of West Bengal's biggest recent recoveries.

What began as a follow-up investigation into the arrest of seven suspected dacoits snowballed into a nearly 20-hour police operation in Birbhum district, ending with the recovery of cash and gold collectively estimated to be worth around ₹50 crore and the arrest of house owner Minar Mondal.

The search was carried out at Mondal's residence in Deucha village under Mohammad Bazar police station.

The volume of currency was so large that investigators had to bring in multiple note-counting machines from a local bank before they could complete the exercise.

The seized cash and gold were later transported in iron trunks.

Police said Mondal, who took voluntary retirement from the North Bengal State Transport Corporation in 2017 and now receives a monthly pension of about ₹35,000, initially denied ownership of the recovered assets.

During questioning, he allegedly claimed the cash and gold had been kept at his residence by his brother-in-law, Tulu Mondal alias Mohd Nazibuddin.

Investigators say Tulu Mondal had earlier been arrested in a murder case and questioned by central agencies over suspected links to illegal stone, sand and coal mining.

Though granted bail, he has reportedly been absconding since May. Police also suspect he operated a network of dumper trucks used in illegal mining and managed multiple toll booths, one of which was allegedly overseen by Minar Mondal.

Birbhum Superintendent of Police Vidit Raj Bhundesh said Mondal was questioned through the night before being arrested. 

He is expected to be produced before a court in Suri, where police are likely to seek his custody.

Investigators are now trying to establish the source of the seized assets and whether they are connected to a wider organised crime network.

The recovery has also reignited political sparring in West Bengal. Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari praised the police operation, saying the state government would continue its "zero tolerance" approach against corruption and illegal wealth.

The case has drawn further attention because of the alleged proximity between Tulu Mondal and senior political leader Anubrata Mondal, who recently joined a rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress after spending two years in Tihar Jail in connection with a cattle smuggling case.

While investigators continue to trace the ownership and origin of the recovered cash and gold, police have not yet announced any conclusions on who ultimately controlled the massive haul.