17 people held for possessing Rs 1.20 crore in old currency

Police raided a flat in Begumpet and recovered the stash. A report in Deccan Chronicle quotes DCP B. Sumathi as saying that the gang was trying to dupe people by offering them commission to exchange the old notes.

The DCP revealed that the money belonged to one Shaik Subhan, a realtor and Nellore native and Maram Reddy Pavan Kumar Reddy, a hookah parlour owner. Subhan, brought Rs 90 lakh while Pavan Kumar had brought Rs 30 lakh.

The gang’s way of operating was to offer double the amount in old currency for new notes. The duo had been trying to do the exchanging themselves but since they were not able to  so they brought in more. Police also suspect the gang was also exploring the possibility of exchanging the currency at the RBI with the help of others before the March 31 deadline.

The report highlights how the police came to nab the suspects. Police said that on Monday midnight sub inspector U. Madhu of Begumpet found a group near the arch of Pochamma Temple while patrolling. On questioning their suspicious presence, one of the group started running away and that’s how the police went on to raid the apartment.

Towards the end of December 2016, the Narendra Modi government had come out with an ordinance that rendered possession of old currency notes, as well as any transactions in them, illegal.

Later on the RBI announced that a March 31 deadline had been set  for note exchange but it was only for NRIs and Indians who were abroad during the 50 days of demonetisation. The President had approved the promulgation of the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Ordinance, 2016 on 30 December. It makes holding, transfer and receiving of the demonetised notes a criminal offence, punishable with a fine of Rs10,000 or five times the cash held, whichever is higher.

• Telanagana
• demonetised currency
• Rs 1.20 crore
• Hyderabad
• demonetisation
• RBI