The dramatic Rs.7.69-crore robbery at gunpoint near Moolchand flyover in South Delhi on Tuesday could lead to the unravelling of a trans-national betting and hawala network, said police sources.
The Income Tax and the Enforcement Directorate are being involved in the investigations.
The police are questioning Rajesh Kalra, a South Delhi-based diamond merchant recently charged by the Delhi Police in the Hansie Cronje match-fixing case of 2000, on the source of the stolen money.
The developments come after revelations by one of the victims that part of the cash in the hijacked car that was later found abandoned belonged to the businessman.
Investigators said the cash might have been sourced from Mumbai as part of a transaction between betting cartels in the city and the national Capital.
The five men who were travelling in the car have been identified as employees of Rahul Ahuja, a business partner of Mr. Kalra, who is also being questioned.
The police said the victims were giving conflicting accounts on the exact amount of money and its source.
Two of the five persons made calls to the police control room at an interval of 12 minutes. Rakesh Kumar Sharma did not initially mention that there was cash in the car, a source said. The fact came to light only during the second call.
Mr. Kalra had been named as an accused in the 2000 match-fixing case involving former South African captain Cronje.
The chargesheet in the case was filed in 2013, soon after the unearthing of another major spot-fixing scandal in the IPL, which allegedly involved several cricketers.
Even as the police look at the money trail, the manner in which the robbery was carried out has been shrouded in mystery, with investigators also probing whether the entire episode was “stage managed”.
The victims, the police said, claimed they were taking the cash to be deposited in the bank accounts. They were, however, unable to state the source of the cash.
