The development comes at a time when Mr. Jitan Ram Manjhi is bargaining hard with the Bharatiya Janata Party for seats for his Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) in the Assembly elections.

“During a routine check, the money was seized from his vehicle and he could not give a satisfactory explanation,” Lakshman Prasad, in-charge of the Makhdumpur police station, told mediapersons.

As the election dates have been announced, the model code of conduct is in place in Bihar. The Income Tax department, along with the Bihar police, has also intensified its crackdown on black money. “The cash was kept in a briefcase in the Volkswagen Vento car that Praveen Manjhi was driving,” said the police officer.