Two years after demonetisation, 4 held with Rs 3.5 crore in banned 500, 1000 notes
The accused were travelling from Mumbai to Gujarat when their car was intercepted at Bilimora by Crime Branch officials (Representational Image)
More than two years after the central government demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, four persons were arrested with banned currency worth Rs 3.50 crore.
The accused were travelling from Mumbai to Gujarat when their car was intercepted at Bilimora in Gujarat’s Navsari district.
According to a crime branch official, the four men were apprehended around midnight on Sunday. During a search, officials found banned currency worth over Rs 3.5 crore.
“There were 43,400 notes of Rs 500 denomination having face value of Rs 2.16 crore and 13,432 notes of Rs 1000 denomination having face value of Rs 1.34 crore. The total face value of the notes is Rs 3,50,82,000,” the official said.
The accused, identified as Jitendra Panigrahi, Mohammad Momin, Fakir Motorwala and Altaf Sheikh, were later placed under arrest.
A preliminary investigation has revealed the accused were supposed to hand over the scrapped notes to a person in Navsari for a commission.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 100 notes on November 8 in an attempt to curb corruption and black money.
The decision to take out 85 percent of the country’s existing currency out of circulation overnight sent shockwaves throughout the nation and remains to this day as one of the most controversial moves of the NDA government given the lack of clarity over how much black money was seeded out, especially given the loss of income and inconvenience to millions.
